But the Gophers were unfazed. Not only did they go into the south and beat Mississippi in their own gym, but they did it with relative ease. Minnesota jumped out to a 16-2 lead before the Bulldogs realized the game had started. While they didn’t hold that kind of lead throughout, it was Mississippi State who had to scratch and claw just to remain within striking distance.

Gopher clutch gene

Big shot by guys like Payton Willis, Jamison Battle, EJ Stephens and Eric Curry continued to fall whenever they were most needed. Every time the Bulldogs got their own clutch shot to fall, it was to pull them within a possession or two. But the Minnesota Gophers never let Mississippi State get over that hump.

Even after a grand finale comeback that tied the game with less than one minute to play, the maroon and gold answered. When the dust settled, it was a 81-76 Golden Gopher victory.

9-0 run ????

One possession game. pic.twitter.com/FrPXPIPt8c

— Mississippi State MBK (@HailStateMBK) December 5, 2021

???? @__garro beats the BUZZER ???? pic.twitter.com/Q3rtU6zNTI

— Mississippi State MBK (@HailStateMBK) December 5, 2021

Tests Get Tougher, Results Stay the Same (so far)

I’ve already written a couple of these blogs on Ben Johnson’s Gophers but each one becomes more impressive. Was it surprising to see them beat Princeton and Western Kentucky on their way to winning the inaugural Asheville Championship? Yes, but it wasn’t anything to get overly excited about.

Now, Minnesota is 7-0 with back to back victories over ACC (Pittsburgh) and SEC teams. Were they the best teams in either of those respective conferences? No, but it was still Power-5 competition and both games were on the road. That’s a feat the first year head coach should be proud of, especially when his team was picked to finish dead-last in the Big Ten this season.

Ben Johnson and Minnesota continue to be a surprise. Gophers beat Mississippi State in Starkville to remain undefeated. That loss will follow the Bulldogs all the way to Selection Sunday.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) December 5, 2021

Ben Johnson and his Gophers won’t find a bigger test all season than what their about to face in their next two games vs Michigan and Michigan State.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Minnesota Gophers have received another transfer commitment, their second of the day. His name is Elijah Stephens and he’s coming from the University of Lafayette. EJ is another guard who can shoot, which is exactly what Ben Johnson’s team needed entering today.

Now, they have two with both Stephens and Luke Loewe committing today.

Time for a new chapter! Gopher nation let’s go get it〽️‼️ @GopherMBB @CoachBenJohnson pic.twitter.com/h4SnY9sO05

— Eylijah Stephens (@EJ_Stephens_) April 2, 2021

Richard Pitino may have been famous for letting his assistant coaches do all of the recruiting for his program. Ben Johnson, on the other hand, doesn’t even need assistants to get commitments from this year’s transfer portal. This afternoon, he picked up his second of the day and third since he took over as the Minnesota Gophers head coach a few weeks ago.

Not all of EJ Stephens’ numbers make sense, like the fact that he’s only started 32 games in his career, including just 3 of the 17 games he played in 2020-21. He talks about that a bit in the video above. Even coming off the bench, he averaged over 32 minutes per game last season and 16.4 points and nearly 5 rebounds per game. Hopefully he can bring that same energy off the bench for the Gophers.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan