| Mode: | Basketball |
| Year: | 2008–09 |
| Team: | Minnesota Golden Gophers |
| Conference: | Big Ten Conference |
| Short Conf: | Big Ten |
| Record: | 22–11 |
| Conf Record: | 9–9 |
| Asst Coach2: | Saul Smith |
| Bowl Result: | L 76–62 |
The 2008–09 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the college basketball season of 2008–2009. The team's head coach was Tubby Smith. This was Smith's second year as Minnesota's head coach. The Golden Gophers played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Big Ten Network included the team in a two-and-a-half-hour special that featured Midnight Madness events from several Big Ten campuses on October 17, 2008; the Minnesota event to kick off the season was called "Tubby's Tipoff".[1] The Gophers started the season on a twelve-game winning streak for the first time since the 1948–49 season.[2] The team became ranked on December 22, the first time the team had been ranked since the 2002–03 season.[3]
Recruit Royce White signed with the Minnesota Golden Gophers, but did not play due to shoplifting and trespassing charges. He transferred to Iowa State in July 2010.[4]
| Name | Height | Weight (lbs.) | Position | Class | Hometown | Previous Team(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Al Nolen | 6'1" | 180 | G | So. | Minneapolis, MN, U.S. | Minneapolis Henry HS |
| 1 | Paul Carter | 6'8" | 195 | F | So. | Little Rock, AR, U.S. | Little Rock Mills HS Missouri State-West Plains |
| 3 | Kevin Payton | 6'5" | 215 | G/F | RJr. | Camden, NJ, U.S. | Camden HS |
| 4 | Travis Busch | 6'4" | 220 | G/F | Jr. | Mounds View, MN, U.S. | Mounds View HS |
| 5 | Devoe Joseph | 6'3" | 170 | G | Fr. | Ajax, ON, Canada | Pickering HS |
| 11 | Jonathan Williams | 6'9" | 250 | G | Sr. | St. Cloud, MN, U.S. | Notre Dame Prep St. Cloud Apollo HS |
| 20 | Lawrence Westbrook | 6'0" | 195 | G | Jr. | Chandler, AZ, U.S. | Winchendon Prep |
| 22 | Devron Bostick | 6'5" | 210 | G | Jr. | Racine, WI, U.S. | St. Catharine's HS SW Illinois |
| 24 | Blake Hoffarber | 6'4" | 200 | G | So. | Minnetonka, MN, U.S. | Hopkins HS |
| 33 | Jamal Abu-Shamala | 6'5" | 210 | G/F | Sr. | Shakopee, MN, U.S. | Shakopee HS |
| 34 | Damian Johnson | 6'7" | 195 | F | RJr. | Thibodaux, LA, U.S. | Thibodaux HS |
| 45 | Colton Iverson | 6'10" | 235 | F/C | Fr. | Yankton, SD, U.S. | Yankton HS |
| 50 | Ralph Sampson III | 6'11" | 220 | F/C | Fr. | Duluth, GA, U.S. | Northview HS |
|-!colspan="8" style="text-align: center; background:#800000" |
Exhibition|-! colspan="8" style="text-align: center; background:#800000"|Regular Season|-! colspan="9" style="text-align: center; background:#800000"|Big Ten Regular Season
|-! colspan="9" style="text-align: center; background:#800000"|2009 Big Ten tournament
|-! colspan="9" style="text-align: center; background:#800000"|2009 NCAA Men's Basketball tournament
See also: 2008-09 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings.
| Poll | Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AP | 23 | 21 | 22 | 18 | 21 | NR | 19 | NR | |||||||||||||
| Coaches | 23 | 21 | 19 | 17 | 20 | 24 | 19 | NR |