Gopher Men's Basketball

The Gophers downed Bucknell 70-58 Friday night in their regular season opener at Williams Arena. Minnesota led by at halftime and outscored Bucknell 37-27 in the 2nd half. Trevor Mbakwe led the Gophers with 17 points and 10 rebounds, Austin Hollins added 13 points and Ralph Sampson III added 8 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists.

The Gopher men's basketball team signed 2 players to national letters of intent Wednesday on the first day of the early signing period for winter college sports. The 2 players are 6'6 210 pound guard Wally Ellenson of Rice Lake, Wisconsin and 6'7 215 pound small forward Charles Buggs from Arlington, Texas. Both are considered 3-star recruits.

The Gopher men's basketball team defeated Bemidji State 71-58 in an exhibition game Tuesday night at Williams Arena. Trevor Mbakwe led the Gophers with 17 points and 11 rebounds, Ralph Sampson III added 15 points and Rodney Williams chipped in 10 points. Freshman point guard Andre Hollins added 6 points and 8 assists and freshman shooting guard Joe Coleman chipped in 7 points.

The Gopher men's basketball team will play an exhibition game tonight at Williams Arena in Minneapolis against Bemidji State at 7pm. Minnesota welcomes lots of new players this season including freshman guards Joe Coleman and Andre Hollins.

The Gopher men's basketball team released its Big Ten schedule Wednesday and they will open the Big Ten season at Illinois on December 27 and will play at Michigan on January 1st. The Gophers will play Michigan, Penn State, Purdue and Ohio State just once in 2011-2012 season and everyone else twice including Nebraska.

The Gopher men's basketball team and head coach Tubby Smith received their first commitment for the 2012 recruiting class. 6'6 shooting guard/small forward Wally Ellenson from Rice Lake, Wisconsin verbally committed to playing basketball for the Gophers starting in 2012.

The University of Minnesota is losing another player. 6'11 center/forward Colton Iverson requested and was granted his release from the program. Iverson has just one year of college eligibility remaining but he felt it was time for him to move on. That's what he said in an email message. He averaged 5.4 points and 5 rebounds a game his junior year with Minnesota. His playing time may not have been guaranteed next season with Ralph Sampson III, Trevor Mbakwe, Maurice Walker and Elliot Elliason coming back next season playing the post positions.

University of Minnesota basketball recruit Andre Hollins has been selected as Mr. Basketball in the state of Tennessee. The 6'2 combo guard signed his national letter of intent to play for Tubby Smith and the Gophers in the early signing period. He is ranked as the 126th best player in the 2011 recruiting class according to rivals.com.

The Gopher men's basketball team lost 75-65 in the Big Ten Tournament first round Thursday afternoon. Michael Thompson scored 35 points to lead Northwestern to the win. Trevor Mbakwe led the Gophers with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Minnesota falls to 17-14 and will now await a possible bid to the NIT. Northwestern plays Ohio State today in the Big Ten quarterfinals at 11am.

The Gopher men's basketball team suffered a loss in their final regular season game 66-63 Sunday afternoon at home against Penn State. The Gophers honored seniors Blake Hoffarber and Al Nolen prior to the game on senior day. Minnesota trailed by 3 at halftime and had the game tied with just 2 minutes remaining. Hoffarber led the Gophers with 17 points, Rodney Williams added 14 points and Trevor Mbakwe added 10 points and 14 rebounds.