The Big Ten and the rest of college basketball will soon have all eyes on teams in this year’s NCAA tournament, but everything in the Gophers' world revolves around the search for their next men’s basketball coach.

University of Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle announced early Thursday morning Ben Johnson has been fired after four seasons as head coach of the Gophers men's basketball team. The announcement just after 1:00 a.

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.