The Gophers finished 15-17 after losing to Northwestern on Wednesday in the first round of the conference tournament.

Johnson, 44, coached the Gophers for four years with one trip to the NIT and one winning season. This year, Minnesota finished 15-17 overall and 7-13 in Big Ten play but won five games on the road. Johnson was 56-71 in four seasons and 22-57 in league competition. He was 1-4 in the Big Ten tournament.

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers.

Ben Johnson had served as Minnesota coach since 2021-22 but was unable to return the Gophers to the NCAA tournament.

The Gophers fired men’s basketball coach Ben Johnson early Thursday following his third losing season in four years. The decision will cost the University of Minnesota a $2.93 million buyout of his contract.