The University of Minnesota is parting ways with Gopher men's basketball head coach Ben Johnson after a disappointing exit at the men's Big 10 Basketball Tournament.

Minnesota Golden Gophers men’s basketball coach Ben Johnson was relieved of his duties in an unexpected move on Thursday morning. Johnson, a former Gophers player and Minneapolis native, took over the reins at the club in 2021.

After going 4-16 in Big Ten in Year 1 and 2-17 in Year 2, Minnesota improved to 9-11 in conference play (ninth place) last season, then lost center Pharrel Payne and point guard Elijah Hawkins to bigger NIL deals at Texas A&M and Texas Tech, respectively, and freshman shooting guard Cam Christie to the NBA draft.