The 2012–13 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2012-13 college basketball season. It was the sixth and final season for team's head coach, Tubby Smith, who was fired shortly after the conclusion of the season. The Golden Gophers, members of the Big Ten Conference, played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They finished with a record of 21–13 overall, 8–10 in Big Ten for a three-way tie for 7th place. They lost to Illinois in the first round in the 2013 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament. They were invited to the 2013 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and lost in the third round to Florida.
Coach Tubby Smith's firing was announced on March 25, 2013. On April 3, 2013, it was verbally agreed upon that Richard Pitino would become the new Gophers basketball coach.
Roster #NameHeightWeight (lbs.)PositionClassHometownPrevious team(s)00Julian Welch6'3"195GSr.Elk Grove, CA, U.S.Franklin HS1Andre Hollins6'1"200GSo.Memphis, TN, U.S.White Station HS3Wally Ellenson6'4"200GFr.Rice Lake, WI, U.S.Rice Lake HS10Oto Osenieks6'8"205FRSo.Riga, LatviaBrehm Prep11Joe Coleman6'4"208GSo.Minneapolis, MN, U.S.Hopkins HS13Maverick Ahanmisi6'2"192GJr.Santa Clarita, CA, U.S.Stoneridge Prep15Maurice Walker6'10"289FRSo.Scarborough, Ontario, CanadaBrewster Academy20Austin Hollins6'4"185GJr.Germantown, TN, U.S.Germantown HS22Chris Halvorsen6'8"214FRJr.St. Paul, MN, U.S.Henry Sibley HS24Charles Buggs6'8"198FFr.Arlington, TX, U.S.Hargrave Military Academy30Andre Ingram6'7"213FSr.Minneapolis, MN, U.S.Minnesota Transitions32Trevor Mbakwe6'8"245FGSr.Saint Paul, MN, U.S.St. Bernard's HSMiami Dade College33Rodney Williams6'7"200FSr.Minneapolis, MN, U.S.Robbinsdale Cooper HS34Kendal Shell6'0"190GSo.St. Louis, MO, U.S.Webster Groves HS55Elliott Eliason6'11"260CRSo.Chadron, NE, U.S.Chadron HS
2012–13 schedule and results
! colspan="9" style="text-align: center; background:#800000" | Exhibition
! colspan="9" 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"|2013 Big Ten tournament
! colspan="9" style="text-align: center; background:#800000"|2013 NCAA tournament
National Rankings
+ Regular season pollsPoll Pre-Season Week1 Week2 Week3 Week4 Week5 Week6 Week7 Week8 Week9 Week10 Week11 Week12 Week13 Week14 Week15 Week16 Week17 Week18 Final AP RV RV RV 21 14 13 13 11 9 8 9 12 23 18 RV RV Coaches RV RV RV RV 21 16 16 14 13 10 12 14 24 18 NR RV + Legend Increase in ranking Decrease in ranking (RV) Received Votes T Tied
References