Ben Johnson’s Gophers reach Big Ten tournament after a season of emotional swings

Ben Johnson tried to hold back his emotions after the Gophers basketball student section swarmed players following their upset win against Michigan this year.

The Gophers' fourth-year coach finally picked up his first win over a ranked team and, in the process, ended a six-game losing streak to start Big Ten play.

The sense of relief quickly turned into a feel-good moment for the Johnson family.

His father, Hal, who has a fourth-row seat, walked down to congratulate him courtside.

“He shook his hand and told him, ‘I love you,’” said Twins and Big Ten Network play-by-play announcer Cory Provost, who covered the Jan. 16 upset. “It was a very private and personal moment. But it was just neat being in that chair seeing a dad proud of his son.”

When the No. 12 seed Gophers (15-16, 7-13 Big Ten) open Big Ten tournament play Wednesday against No. 13 seed Northwestern (16-15, 7-13) in Indianapolis, Johnson will bring his usual calm and cool to the sideline.

But it’s been an emotional rollercoaster this season. From the speculation that heated up about his future after the rough start to the turnaround that made sure the Gophers qualified for the Big Ten tournament.

Johnson, who is 56-70 in four seasons, seems to appreciate even more what it means to be in his position after the Gophers persevered through it all.

“I feel extremely fortunate,” Johnson said. “I know how hard it is to get a job — period, especially one at this level. There’s a lot of factors that go into it. Being from here and playing here, you obviously have pride in that.”

Johnson also understands the current college basketball landscape that gets tougher by the day for coaches, especially minority coaches, to solidify their job status.

Kevin Keatts is a Black coach who led North Carolina State to the Final Four last season. On Sunday, he was fired.

Indiana coach Mike Woodson and Johnson were the only two Black men’s basketball coaches in the Big Ten this year, but Woodson already announced in February that he was leaving the program after the season.

“I have some personal pride that I’ll be the only minority coach in the league,” Johnson said. “I take that with a badge of honor. If I can continue to push and do a good job, hopefully continue to open the narratives and doors for other guys. It all goes hand in hand.”

Johnson carries a competitiveness to win that his players saw in the locker room during lengthy team heart-to-heart meetings after tough losses at Indiana and Wisconsin — and also while celebrating big wins at Iowa, USC, UCLA and Nebraska.

“This year, we’ve had some pretty loud wins,” senior forward Dawson Garcia said. “You can tell when a head coach has the locker room with the respect and the belief, just by the celebrations at the end of games and how everybody’s into it. Like we’re all on the same mission.”

Johnson’s mission in mid-January was to just get the Gophers their first Big Ten win. Beating No. 20 Michigan was the first of three consecutive victories and winning six of their next nine.

In that stretch the Gophers outplayed No. 15 Oregon from start to finish. But arguably an even more meaningful game for the Gophers was taking down rival Iowa on Jan. 21. The program’s first victory in Iowa City since 2014 started the run of five road wins in six games that defined this season.

What also defined the season for the Gophers was a 2-8 Big Ten home record, which put pressure on them to stay ahead of other teams fighting to play in Indianapolis.

“I do think a couple times at home I could feel it,” Johnson said about losses to Northwestern and Penn State earlier this month.

Garcia is as tough as they come but didn’t look himself in the two games after his 26-point performance in the Feb. 25 loss vs. Northwestern.

That’s because Garcia tweaked his ankle at the end of the March 1 game at Nebraska. The Gophers still won on a last-second three-pointer from Brennan Rigsby to make sure they weren’t in the bottom three in the Big Ten. Nebraska, Penn State and Washington missed the conference tournament.

Hardly any team is 100% healthy in March, but Garcia is still playing on a sore ankle, as is starting guard Mike Mitchell Jr. And starting forward Parker Fox has been unable to play 20 minutes or more in his past 10 games.

“It feels good in the game and then worse the next day,” Garcia said of his ankle. “I just don’t really have time right now [to heal]. It doesn’t really affect my play or anything. It’s just pain the next day.”

There aren’t many days left for the seniors. The NCAA tournament is still far-fetched. But there are other postseason opportunities with the NIT and the new College Basketball Crown tournament in Las Vegas.

“I’m not thinking about next year,” junior forward Frank Mitchell said. “I’m thinking about [Northwestern]. It’s a big game. I’m trying to make a run.”

But if the Gophers don’t play past the conference tournament this week, Johnson is still confident he can take the program another step forward next season. Revenue sharing is expected to add to what college programs can offer athletes other than NIL money.

There could be more opportunities for the homegrown Johnson to make his father proud.

“I’m a competitive dude,” Johnson said. “That’s what excites me to do it in a place I know we can, and to do it now with a much closer playing field.”

Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis

2:30 p.m. Wednesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse

Streaming; radio: Peacock; 1130-AM

The Wildcats saw a three-game winning streak end with two consecutive losses to end the regular season. They still were able to qualify for the Big Ten tournament after losing starters Brooks Barnhizer and Jalen Leach to season-ending injuries. Junior Nick Martinelli, who was named All-Big Ten second team with the Gophers’ Dawson Garcia, finished as the league’s top scorer (20.2 ppg). Martinelli had 29 points in Northwestern’s 75-63 win at Minnesota.