1979–80 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

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1979–80 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record21–11 (10–8 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaWilliams Arena
Seasons
← 1978–79
1979–80 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 7 Indiana 13 5   .722 21 8   .724
No. 10 Ohio State 12 6   .667 21 8   .724
No. 20 Purdue 11 7   .611 23 10   .697
Iowa 10 8   .556 23 10   .697
Minnesota 10 8   .556 21 11   .656
Illinois 8 10   .444 22 13   .629
Michigan 8 10   .444 17 13   .567
Wisconsin 7 11   .389 15 14   .517
Michigan State 6 12   .333 12 15   .444
Northwestern 5 13   .278 10 17   .370
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979–80 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by head coach Jim Dutcher, the Gophers played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.

Minnesota finished tied for fourth in the rugged Big Ten Conference (Indiana and Ohio State were top 10 teams throughout the season while Iowa and Purdue reached the Final Four) with a record of 10–8, but were left out of the 48-team NCAA Tournament. The Gophers went on to reach the championship game of the 1980 NIT, where they fell to Virginia and college legend Ralph Sampson,[1] and finished with an overall record of 21–11.

Senior forward Kevin McHale finished his career as the school-record holder in blocks while also establishing the single-season record (surpassed three seasons later by teammate Randy Breuer). He finished second on the career scoring and rebounding charts. McHale was taken by the Boston Celtics with the No. 3 pick in the 1980 NBA draft.

Roster

1979–80 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 24 Mark Hall 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
So  
G 32 Trent Tucker 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Flint, Michigan
F 42 Gary Holmes 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
So  
F/C 44 Kevin McHale 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Hibbing, Minnesota
C 45 Randy Breuer 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Lake City, Minnesota
F 54 Ben Coleman 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Minneapolis, Minnesota
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

[2]

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Non-Conference Regular Season
Nov 30, 1979*
Eastern Michigan W 77–56  1–0
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Dec 3, 1979*
Fresno State W 65–49  2–0
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Dec 5, 1979*
North Dakota W 87–60  3–0
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Dec 15, 1979*
Nebraska W 75–58  4–0
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Dec 17, 1979*
at Tennessee L 64–71  4–1
Stokely Athletic Center 
Knoxville, Tennessee
Dec 20, 1979*
at Florida State L 91–112  4–2
Tully Gymnasium 
Tallahassee, Florida
Dec 22, 1979*
Kansas State W 78–61  5–2
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Dec 28, 1979*
Rutgers W 98–59  6–2
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Dec 29, 1979*
at Texas A&M W 69–63  7–2
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Big Ten Conference Regular Season
Jan 3, 1980
at Michigan L 67–71  7–3
(0–1)
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Jan 5, 1980
at Michigan State W 93–80  8–3
(1–1)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, Michigan
Jan 10, 1980
Wisconsin W 82–76 OT 9–3
(2–1)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Jan 12, 1980*
Illinois W 79–75  10–3
(3–1)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Jan 17, 1980
at No. 2 Ohio State L 70–75 OT 10–4
(3–2)
St. John Arena 
Columbus, Ohio
Jan 19, 1980
No. 11 Purdue W 67–61  11–4
(4–2)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Jan 24, 1980
No. 16 Indiana W 55–47  12–4
(5–2)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Jan 26, 1980
at Iowa L 73–80  12–5
(5–3)
Iowa Field House 
Iowa City, Iowa
Jan 31, 1980
at Northwestern W 74–64  13–5
(6–3)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, Illinois
Feb 2, 1980
Iowa L 63–73  13–6
(6–4)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Feb 7, 1980
at No. 12 Purdue L 56–58  13–7
(6–5)
Mackey Arena 
West Lafayette, Indiana
Feb 9, 1980
Northwestern W 72–55  14–7
(7–5)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Feb 14, 1980
No. 9 Ohio State W 74–70  15–7
(8–5)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Feb 16, 1980
at Indiana L 54–67  15–8
(8–6)
Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, Indiana
Feb 21, 1980
at Illinois L 58–60 OT 15–9
(8–7)
Assembly Hall 
Champaign, Illinois
Feb 23, 1980
at Wisconsin L 55–70  15–10
(8–8)
Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, Wisconsin
Feb 28, 1980
Michigan State W 87–73  16–10
(9–8)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Mar 1, 1980
Michigan W 68–67  17–10
(10–8)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
National Invitation Tournament
Mar 5, 1980*
Bowling Green
First Round
W 64–50  18–10
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Mar 10, 1980*
Mississippi
Second Round
W 58–56  19–10
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Mar 13, 1980*
Southwestern Louisiana
Quarterfinal
W 94–73  20–10
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Mar 17, 1980*
vs. Illinois
Semifinal
W 65–63  21–10
Madison Square Garden (11,223)
New York, New York
Mar 19, 1980*
vs. Virginia
Championship game
L 55–58[1]  21–11
Madison Square Garden (13,598)
New York, New York
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

[3]

Team players in the 1980 NBA draft

Round Pick Player NBA Club
1 3 Kevin McHale Boston Celtics

[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "Virginia Is King In NIT". The Washington Post. March 20, 1980. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  2. ^ "1979-80 Minnesota Golden Gophers Roster and Stats". Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  3. ^ "2020-21 Minnesota Golden Gophers Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of Minnesota Athletics. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  4. ^ "1980 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 7, 2021.