Gopher Men's Basketball

The Gopher men's basketball team is losing shooting guard Chip Armelin. He has requested and has been granted his release from his scholarship so he can leave the program. Armelin averaged 5.2 points in 13.7 minutes a game this past season but his minutes diminished as the season progressed. The sophomore has 2 years of eligibility remaining.

The Gopher men's basketball team lost 75-51 in the NIT title game to Stanford Thursday night at Madison Square Garden in New York. Minnesota trailed by 6 at halftime and were quickly down double figures early in the 2nd half. Rodney Williams led the Gophers with 12 points before fouling out. Joe Coleman and Austin Hollins each had 10 points and Andre Hollins scored just 4 points before fouling out for Minnesota.

The Gopher men's basketball team will play Stanford tonight in the NIT Championship game at Madison Square Garden in New York at 6pm, pregame on AM 1390-the Fan at 5:30. Minnesota is 23-14 while Stanford is 25-11. The Gophers are coming off a 68-67 overtime win over Washington Tuesday night.

The Gopher men's basketball team defeated the University of Washington 68-67 in overtime at Madison Square Garden in New York in the NIT semifinals to advance to the NIT finals in New York Thursday night against Stanford at 6pm, pregame on AM 1390-the Fan at 5:30. Minnesota led by 12 at halftime and by as many as 15 points in the first half. Andre Hollins led the Gophers with 20 points including making all 7 of his free throw attempts. Rodney Williams added 18 points and 9 rebounds and Austin Hollins had 12 points for Minnesota.

The Gopher men's basketball team plays the University of Washington tonight at around 8pm in the NIT tournament semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York. Minnesota is 22-14 while Washington is 24-10. The Gophers are coming off a win over Middle Tennessee State last Wednesday while Washington beat PAC 12 rival, Oregon to advance to the NIT semifinals.

Gopher forward Trevor Mbakwe was granted a medical redshirt and 6th year of college eligibility by the NCAA Thursday. The 6'8 240 senior tore the ACL in his left knee on November 27 in the Old Sprice Classic in a loss against Dayton. Mbakwe played just 7 games this season and averaged 14 points and 9.1 rebounds a game.

The Gopher men's basketball team won at Middle Tennessee State 78-72 to advance to the NIT tournament semifinals Wednesday night. Andre Hollins and Rodney Williams each scored 24 points to lead the Gophers and Elliott Elliason chipped in 12 points and 7 rebounds. Minnesota trailed 32-28 at halftime but rallied to lead by as many as 9 in the 2nd half. The loss at home for Middle Tennessee was their first since November.

The Gopher men's basketball team won their first round NIT game 70-61 at La Salle in Philadelphia Wednesday night. Minnesota rallied in the 2nd half and shot 52 percent from the field. La Salle shot 47 percent. The Gophers were led by Rodney Williams with 21 points, Austin Hollins had 16 points and Andre Hollins had 13 points.

The Gopher men's basketball team received a bid into the NIT tournament Sunday night. Minnesota is seeded 6th in 1 of 4 regions and will play 3rd seeded La Salle in Philadelphia at 6pm (CT) Wednesday night, pregame on WJON at 5:30.

The Gopher men's basketball team had Michigan on the ropes in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals but allowed the Wolverines to come from down 6 points with 1:25 left to force overtime. Michigan won 73-69 in overtime to eliminate Minnesota. Freshman guard Andre Hollins led Minnesota with 21 points and 6 assists and Rodney Williams chipped in 20 points and 6 rebounds.