1979–80 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 1979–80 Minnesota Golden Gophers basketball Minnesota Golden Gophers logo.svg Big Ten Conference Big Ten 21–11 10–8 Jim Dutcher Jimmy Williams Jessie Evans Marty Gillespie Williams Arena National Invitation Tournament Runner-Up 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,Virginia Is King In NIT https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1980/03/20/virginia-is-king-in-nit/02281d8d-bfb8-4b66-a341-4ec36f9da433/ The Washington Post March 20, 1980 February 7, 2021 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 Minnesota Golden Gophers y Mark Hall 24 G 6 2 SO   Trent Tucker 32 G 6 5 185 SO y Flint, Michigan Gary Holmes 42 F 6 10 SO   Kevin McHale basketball 44 FC 6 10 210 SR y Hibbing, Minnesota Randy Breuer 45 C 7 3 225 FR y Lake City, Minnesota Ben Coleman 54 F 6 9 230 FR y basketball Minneapolis, Minnesota Jim Dutcher (Michigan) https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/minnesota/1980.html 1979-80 Minnesota Golden Gophers Roster and Stats February 7, 2021 Schedule and results no yes yes no |- !colspan=9 style=Minnesota Golden Gophers| Non-conference regular season Nov 30, 1979 yes 1979 men Eastern Michigan Hurons Eastern Michigan Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota 77–56 1–0 Dec 3, 1979 yes 1979 men Fresno State Bulldogs Fresno State Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota 65–49 2–0 Dec 5, 1979 yes 1979 men North Dakota Fighting Sioux North Dakota Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota 87–60 3–0 Dec 15, 1979 yes Nebraska Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota 75–58 4–0 Dec 17, 1979 yes yes Tennessee Stokely Athletic Center Knoxville, Tennessee 64–71 4–1 Dec 20, 1979 yes yes Florida State Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida 91–112 4–2 Dec 22, 1979 yes Kansas State Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota 78–61 5–2 Dec 28, 1979 yes Rutgers Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota 98–59 6–2 Dec 29, 1979 yes yes Texas A&M Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota 69–63 7–2 |- !colspan=9 style=Minnesota Golden Gophers| Big Ten Conference Regular Season Jan 3, 1980 yes Michigan Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, Michigan 67–71 7–3 0–1 Jan 5, 1980 yes Michigan State Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan 93–80 8–3 1–1 Jan 10, 1980 Wisconsin Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota 82–76 OT 9–3 2–1 Jan 12, 1980 yes Illinois Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota 79–75 10–3 3–1 Jan 17, 1980 yes Ohio State 2 St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio 70–75 OT 10–4 3–2 Jan 19, 1980 Purdue 11 Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota 67–61 11–4 4–2 Jan 24, 1980 Indiana 16 Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota 55–47 12–4 5–2 Jan 26, 1980 yes Iowa Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa 73–80 12–5 5–3 Jan 31, 1980 yes 1979 men Northwestern Wildcats Northwestern Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, Illinois 74–64 13–5 6–3 Feb 2, 1980 Iowa Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota 63–73 13–6 6–4 Feb 7, 1980 yes Purdue 12 Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana 56–58 13–7 6–5 Feb 9, 1980 Northwestern Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota 72–55 14–7 7–5 Feb 14, 1980 Ohio State 9 Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota 74–70 15–7 8–5 Feb 16, 1980 yes Indiana Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana 54–67 15–8 8–6 Feb 21, 1980 yes Illinois Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois 58–60 OT 15–9 8–7 Feb 23, 1980 yes Wisconsin Wisconsin Field House Madison, Wisconsin 55–70 15–10 8–8 Feb 28, 1980 Michigan State Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota 87–73 16–10 9–8 Mar 1, 1980 Michigan Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota 68–67 17–10 10–8 |- !colspan=9 style=Minnesota Golden Gophers| National Invitation Tournament Mar 5, 1980 yes Bowling Green Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota First Round 64–50 18–10 Mar 10, 1980 yes Mississippi Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota Second Round 58–56 19–10 Mar 13, 1980 yes 1979 men Southwestern Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Southwestern Louisiana Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota Quarterfinal 94–73 20–10 Mar 17, 1980 yes yes Illinois Madison Square Garden New York, New York Semifinal 65–63 11,223 21–10 Mar 19, 1980 yes yes Virginia Madison Square Garden New York, New York Championship game 55–58 13,598 21–11 AP Poll 2020-21 Minnesota Golden Gophers Men's Basketball Media Guide https://gophersports.com/documents/2020/12/22/MBB_Guide_2020_21.pdf University of Minnesota Athletics February 7, 2021 Team players in the 1980 NBA draft 1980 NBA draft Minnesota Golden Gophers Round Pick Player NBA club 1 3 Kevin McHale Boston Celtics https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1980.html 1980 NBA Draft Basketball-reference.com February 7, 2021 References Category:Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball seasons Minnesota Minnesota Category:1979 in sports in Minnesota Category:1980 in sports in Minnesota