Report: Minnesota parting ways with head coach Richard Pitino
Minnesota reportedly prepared to part ways with head basketball coach Richard Pitino. The report comes from Stadium’s Jeff Goodman.
There’s been speculation recently that Minnesota would move on from Pitino since the Golden Gophers collapsed late in the season. Minnesota was 13-7 at one point in the year before dropping seven straight games to fall to 13-14 entering the B1G Tournament.
The Gophers were able to get a win over Northwestern in the opening round of the B1G Tournament but fell 79-75 to Ohio State on Day 2. Minnesota’s year ended with a 14-15 record, marking the second straight year the team was below .500.
BREAKING: Minnesota is expected to part ways with Richard Pitino, sources told @Stadium.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 15, 2021
Pitino is 141-123 in eight seasons at Minnesota. He guided the Gophers to three postseason appearances, two NCAA Tournament appearances (2017 and 2019) and an NIT appearance in 2014.
Perhaps the biggest knock against Pitino in his time in the Twin Cities was his record against B1G competition. The Gophers were just 54-96 against league opponents and only had one winning season in B1G play in eight years.