What We Learned About Gophers Basketball During 9th-Straight Loss vs Wisconsin

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Dawson Garcia, Minnesota Gophers
Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

A week ago the Minnesota Gophers basketball season was on the brink. Despite being home favorites against a mediocre Northwestern Wildcats squad, Ben Johnson couldn’t get his team away from being “mentally stuck.”

But a victory on the road against Nebraska got the underdog Gophers moving in the correct direction again, before returning to The Barn one final time this season vs the No.12 ranked rival Wisconsin Badgers.

This had all of the makings for Ben Johnson’s Golden Gophers to climb back into the Big Ten Tournament race and hopefully convince decision makers at the University of Minnesota to retain him as head coach for a fifth season in 2026. Of course, that’s not how it went.

No mental blocks for Minnesota Gophers early

Last time the Gophers played at The Barn, Ben Johnson’s team came out flat and didn’t look like they were ready for the contest. That wasn’t the case on Wednesday night. Dawson Garcia nailed his first three-point attempt to record his 2,000th career point.

After a quick five-second turnover, The Barnyard rang out a loud “F*** Wisconsin chant.” Then the runs started, but Johnson has his team ready to counter punch. The Badgers went on a 12-0 stretch before the Gophers responded with a 9-0 run of their own.

Related: What We Learned About Gophers in Crushing Loss vs Northwestern

The Badgers may have been the better team on Wednesday night, but Minnesota wasn’t going to let them run away, something that is tough to do against a team that’s best known for its lockdown defense. And we saw that at Williams Arena tonight, when the Gophers forced the Badgers into nine first half turnovers.

Wisconsin led 33-27 at halftime, a lead that felt like it should have been substantially wider, after Minnesota shot just 38% from the field. If there was a halftime speech to be shared, it should have been about just how close Johnson’s team was despite failing to make shots.

Roster construction shows Minnesota Gophers weakness

As was the case last week against Northwestern, Ben Johnson’s desired rotations often have matchups out of sorts. Garcia locked down Nick Martinelli in the first half, but a need for offense gave the Wildcats scorer free reign in the second half.

Wisconsin brought a pair of big men (both from Minnesota) in Steven Crowl and Nolan Winter. That duo stands at a combined 14 feet of height with both being exactly 7’0.” Winter started the game guarding Garcia, but it was just how talented the Badgers were in the post that created a gap.

Related: Ben Johnson’s Gophers Basketball Program Still Way Behind in NIL

Five minutes into the second half the Gophers were being outrebounded 23-18. Frank Mitchell, who put together a nice game as the first Minnesota player with double-digits, helped to secure his part alongside Garcia. Mitchell grabbed ten boards to Garcia’s seven, but Wisconsin finished with a plus-nine differential.

At 6’11,” Garcia is the only Gophers player with height to his advantage. He often plays on the perimeter, and Mitchell’s 6’8″ frame is aided largely by girth. Minnesota didn’t have the big men to keep up, and screen switches often has players like Brennan Rigbsy (6’3″) and Femi Odukale (6’6″) banging for their lives in the post.

Six rotation seniors are on their way out for the Gophers, and finding some height and post play is a must. Although he is just 6’5″ White Bear Lake native Jack Janicki put up some big minutes for the Badgers down the stretch as well. Minnesota keeping kids like that home would be huge.

Seniors show out for the MN Gophers late

Midway through the second half the Gophers found themselves still trailing, but a pair of seniors clearly weren’t wanting their final home game to be a loss. Dawson Garcia poured in a bucket to reach double-digits on the evening.

Brennan Rigbsy, the Oregon transfer who scored a career-high 20 points against Nebraska last time out, had a second act. He nailed a pair of big three point field goals, and his hard work all night started to show up in the box score. Rigsby finished with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

Related: Alumni & Boosters Again Trying to Influence Minnesota Gophers MBB Coaching Hire

With around eight minutes left in the game Lu’Cye Patterson, Minneapolis’ own, sank his second three-pointer of the night. It gave the Gophers a 53-51 lead. That was just the second lead they held all night, and first since Garcia made it 3-0.

Rigsby threw down another slam late and did his best to keep the Gophers crowd in it. It seems a bit shocking he drew just 10 starts this season, and the senior probably could have helped to run Minnesota’s point a bit better. Asked postgame about a lack of starting, he noted a desire to just continue showing up for his teammates.

“I mean, we have just talked about going out there and being confident. Doing what I do. Just trying to bring energy to the team, crowd. I think a little of it was, the team was playing pretty good, you know? They were going on a little stretch. I trust the coaches. They’re trying to win just like I’m trying to win. That’s the biggest thing.”

Brennan Rigsby on playing time (Gopher Hole)

Prior to the Nebraska win, Rigsby had played just a total of 11 minutes combined in the three previous contests. After starting the first ten games, Johnson had Rigsby on the court for 15 minutes or less in 13 of the final 17 games. His early 31.6% shooting and nine turnovers in those starts didn’t earn him enough leash it seems.

Minnesota Gophers just didn’t have enough

It was fun to see The Barn rocking. Despite being a lackluster facility overall, and largely filled with Badgers fans for this sellout, the atmosphere was electric. Unfortunately the Gophers threw all of their haymakers and Johnson had no final answers to pull from his bag.

Wisconsin fans dominated the cheering in the final minute as home fans poured out of the exits. Parker Fox finished with four fouls and wasn’t going to get his fifth before walking off the court for the last time. Garcia and Rigbsy did everything they could, but it wasn’t going to match up with a legit National Championship contender.

Ben Johnson, Minnesota Gophers
Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

Now Mark Coyle and the Gophers athletic department have to decide if Ben Johnson is enough. The team won plenty more games than anyone expected them to within the Big Ten. They also routinely got in their own way and couldn’t make in-game adjustments.

It hasn’t been a great experiment, and we’ve reached a decision making point. Minnesota is back in action on Sunday against Rutgers. They remain positioned to make the Big Ten tournament as one of the final teams in.

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