Getting Gophers to keep fighting as season winds down is Ben Johnson's biggest challenge

A few minutes into Thursday's demoralizing 67-46 loss at Penn State, Ben Johnson could tell his players were already out of sorts.

They weren't getting up and down the court with the same juice. They weren't executing nearly as smoothly offensively and defensively. The Nittany Lions were playing "with more energy and life," Johnson said.

"I thought they did a great job of competing," the Gophers men's basketball coach added about his opponent. "Just wanting it more and having more fight."

The Gophers (12-12, 3-12 Big Ten) play Northwestern on Saturday at Williams Arena and are facing a question with the season winding down: How much fight do they still have left after 11 losses in 13 games?

Senior Payton Willis took to Twitter the day after the U's loss at Penn State to say: "It ain't no damn fatigue neither … we'll be back."

Some Gophers players appeared under the weather during the team's two-game road trip recently, but Johnson didn't mention illness as an excuse.

When asked about Willis' social media post, Johnson said Friday that he knows his point guard and team captain has been asked to carry a lot of responsibility this season and plays with a lot of pressure on him from opposing teams.

"He's got a lot on his shoulders with not only having to produce, but also trying to navigate our roster with guys," Johnson said. "He's a kid who has never made excuses – ever."

Willis, who had averaged nearly 19 points on 51% three-point shooting in eight games before Tuesday's 70-45 loss at Ohio State, had 10 points and six turnovers combined on 4-for-17 shooting the past two games. But he's one of four starters playing at least 32 minutes per game this season.

A week ago, big man Eric Curry had a career-high 22 points in the win against Penn State at home. He scored only three points in the next two games, but he's been battling an ankle injury for weeks.

A third starter, E.J. Stephens, had only seven points in the past two games.

Minnesota lost by the widest margin ever at Penn State on Thursday after beating the same opponent 76-70 at the Barn last weekend.

The Gophers were outscored 47-20 in the second half at Ohio State. And the 20 second-half points vs. the Buckeyes and 19 first-half points against the Nittany Lions were Minnesota's two lowest scoring halves of the season.

The Gophers don't have the depth to overcome multiple players struggling at the same time. They rank 354th nationally in bench minutes percentage (18.4%), per Kenpom.com. And they're the only Big Ten team with four players in the top 25 in minutes played in league games.

"Our team has to mentally just become so much tougher," Johnson said Thursday. "We can't have the big disparity from on the road to at home. Just the effort piece."

Getting back on track might be as simple as Willis, Curry, and others just feeling better being back home.

But Johnson said he's not worried as much about wins and losses as his first season comes to a close with the Gophers. It's about how they play.

"Right now when you're building this you don't necessarily care about the score," Johnson said. "The bigger picture is the product you put out there. What that looks like and how you play on both sides of the ball. If you struggle to do that, then the other stuff doesn't matter."