Four things learned in the Big Ten midseason for Gophers men's basketball

One of the first things on Ben Johnson's mind after Wednesday's 88-73 loss against No. 4 Purdue was to reflect on how stacked the Gophers men's basketball schedule was to open Big Ten play.

The Gophers (11-8) only won two of their first 10 Big Ten games under Johnson, but he pointed out that all eight losses were to teams in the top 30 of the NCAA's NET rankings. Six of their losses were to opponents now ranked in the top 25, including Michigan State twice. Their conference strength of schedule ranks No. 2 in the Big Ten, per Kenpom.com.

Minnesota's first four league road games were at Michigan, Indiana, Michigan State, and Wisconsin.

"We've kind of been thrown into the gantlet in terms of who we've played," Johnson said. "Now the challenge is going to be are you going to be able to use every lesson that we've learned from these losses to now try to snowball it into wins and become strong in the month of February?"

The second half of the Big Ten schedule begins Sunday at Iowa, but here are four things learned about Johnson's Gophers at the midway point in conference play:

Willis and Battle show

If All-Big Ten player ballots went out for midseason awards, the Gophers' top two scorers Jamison Battle and Payton Willis would surely receive votes.

Willis and Battle have gone beyond being at the forefront of every opponent's scouting report. They've delivered in big moments and proved they could play well against tough opponents.

Battle's 27-point performance in the Dec. 11 win at Michigan was special not only for his 21 points in the second half, but it also helped the Gophers make a statement that their previous two power conference road wins weren't a fluke.

The Wolverines, who hadn't previously lost to the Gophers in Ann Arbor since 2011, were missing some key pieces from the team that won the Big Ten regular season title and advanced to the Elite Eight last year. But Juwan Howard still had much more talent than the Gophers, so that remains Johnson's first and best Big Ten win.

The most memorable victory came when Battle was sidelined with an illness on Jan. 22 against Rutgers. Willis put on his cape and came to the rescue to score a career-best 32 points on a school-record tying eight three-pointers in the 68-63 victory at the Barn. Three starters were out, but Willis nearly single-handedly replaced all of their offensive production.

Battle's the Gophers' leading scorer (17.8). But Willis is their go-to guy in so many areas, ranking top 10 in the Big Ten in points (16.7), field goal percentage (49.6), three-point percentage (42.7), assists (4.3), steals (1.8), and minutes played (36.9).

Frontcourt limitations

It came as no surprise to anyone that the Gophers struggled mightily against the Big Ten's elite big men since the frontcourt was where they had the least depth.

Kofi Cockburn's 29-point, 10-rebound, four-block performance was the biggest eye-opener for the U to just how much of a difference it makes with a dominant inside presence.

But the Gophers also saw Ohio State's E.J. Liddell rack up 23 points and 15 rebounds and Iowa's Keegan Murray go for 25 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks. Three different Gophers big men had four fouls trying to slow down Purdue's 7-4, 295-pound Zach Edey, who had 12 of his 14 points in the first half, to go with 12 rebounds in Thursday's win in Minneapolis.

The Gophers gave up an average of 20.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in six games against Cockburn, Liddell, Murray, Edey, Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis, and Michigan's Hunter Dickinson

It wouldn't be fair at all to blame senior center Eric Curry, who delayed being a graduate assistant to return for his sixth year. Curry's had a career-best season in spite of his injury history, but it was too difficult to ask him to defend elite posts 1-on-1 each night.

Curry missing three games with an ankle injury allowed the Gophers to finally see what they had in 7-foot freshman Treyton Thompson, who is averaging 7.0 points and shot 4-for-6 from three-point range in the four games playing double-digit minutes.

Senior Charlie Daniels started four games with Curry recovering from his ankle injury, but Thompson has been the spark they were looking for off the bench. But his lack of physical presence at 210 pounds is the biggest thing holding him back from making a bigger impact inside.

Three-minute warning

The Gophers would have two or three more victories this season if they finished games like they did in nonconference play.

When the clock reads around three minutes left, Johnson has watched his team get outplayed late in the second half of losses to Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Purdue. They were within striking distance in all of those games until the upset opportunity just vanished.

In the 73-60 loss Jan. 9 at Indiana, the Gophers were scoreless from the field in the last 2 minutes, 59 seconds. In the loss at Michigan State, the Gophers were held to no field goals in the last 3:35 and still only fell on a last-second shot by Joey Hauser. In the Iowa loss at home, Battle's three-pointer was the only field goal in the last 3:32.

The Gophers were 2-for-6 in the last 2:48 against Ohio State. They were 1-for-6 in the last 3:52 against Purdue, including five straight misses. But the game that has to sting the most was probably the Gophers going scoreless in the last 2:23 after tying the game at Wisconsin.

Could fatigue be a factor with the Gophers coming up empty in so many Big Ten games? Possibly. Battle (37.2) and Willis (36.9) lead the Big Ten in minutes played. Four of the five starters are among the top 13 in the conference in minutes as well, including Loewe (34.1) and E.J. Stephens (33.2). Curry's playing a career-high 27.3 minutes.

The Gophers rank 354^th nationally in bench minutes percentage (18.2), according to Kenpom.com.

Defensive identity

Man-to-man defense was the way the Gophers played against opponents during their 10-1 start this season, which led to some impressive wins.

Suddenly, Johnson decided to mix in a lot more zone defensive concepts during Big Ten play, especially when Curry was sidelined with an injury after the 71-69 loss Jan. 12 at Michigan State.

Thompson's emergence was a big reason for relying heavily on the 2-3 zone since he struggles defending against bigger and stronger bodies in the paint. It was an enormous success in the upset against Rutgers, but the Gophers have switched from man to zone ever since.

A key to the Gophers' turnaround could be making strides defensively. They're ranked second-to-last among Big Ten teams in adjusted defensive efficiency at 142nd nationally, per Kenpom.com.

"I think our guys are starting to figure it out with our zone and with our man," Johnson said Wednesday. "We just got to continue to work on it and get better. I think down the line, especially in the month of February we're going to use that as a tool."