Gophers senior Lu’Cye Patterson emerges as a go-to player after making a leap to the Big Ten

Senior Lu’Cye Patterson had played the best game of his Gophers career with 24 points against Illinois on Feb. 8, but he took the blowout loss personally.

Patterson turned the corner offensively, but his team’s goals were the only thing that mattered.

The Gophers were close to falling out of the top 15 teams in the conference, which qualify for the Big Ten tournament this year.

“We had no urgency,” Patterson said after the 95-74 loss against the Illini at Williams Arena. “That’s unacceptable. That’s on none of the coaching staff. That’s on the players.”

When it was time to back up his challenge, Patterson delivered an even better performance Saturday with a season-high 25 points in the 69-66 win at USC.

“Just rallying my troops,” Patterson said after Saturday’s win. “We never wavered. We just came together as a team and stayed together.”

Entering Tuesday’s game at UCLA in 13th place in the standings, the Gophers (13-12, 5-9 Big Ten) are following Patterson’s seize-the-moment attitude to keep them in postseason contention.

In the last three games, Patterson is averaging 21 points. The 6-2 Minneapolis native is the first Gophers guard to score more than 20 points in back-to-back games since Payton Willis in Ben Johnson’s first season as coach in 2021-22.

“He wants to make sure he gives himself and this team the opportunity to continue playing,” Johnson said. “We need him to feel confident, but more importantly to have that will and drag guys along with him.”

With opponents focusing primarily on stopping leading scorer Dawson Garcia, Frank Mitchell had 15 points and 12 rebounds off the bench in the paint Saturday.

But Patterson emerged as another go-to guy. He had 19 points in the second half and shot 11-for-13 from the foul line against USC, including game-deciding free throws in the final 13 seconds.

“Knowing what’s at stake, I locked in at the right time,” Patterson said. “Those are some big free throws and I’m just proud of myself.”

Trying to fill the point guard role had been difficult for the Gophers after Big Ten assist leader Elijah Hawkins transferred to Texas Tech following last season.

Senior Mike Mitchell Jr., and freshman Isaac Asuma mostly shared the role this year, but Patterson gradually took over some responsibilities over the last month.

Initially asked to be more of a scorer, Patterson figured out how to find shots for himself and others, too.

“It takes a little bit more time to get comfortable,” Johnson said. “To understand my expectations. To understand what we’re trying to do offensively. Where he can find his niche and find his role, but he’s never stopped the work.”

Patterson played at Missouri State and Charlotte over his first four college seasons. The jump to the Big Ten took time for him to adjust, but it wasn’t a drastic change at first.

Patterson averaged 14.5 points, five rebounds and 2.8 assists in his first four Big Ten games, including 20 points in a Jan. 6 double-overtime loss against Ohio State.

His breakout game seemed to come when he scored 22 points in the Jan. 16 overtime win against Michigan, which started the Gophers' three-game winning streak. But Patterson didn’t find the same success again until a few weeks later when he tied Brennan Rigsby with 14 points in the 69-61 win at Penn State on Feb. 4.

Throughout the week, Patterson checks in with his father, Lucas, who was a standout guard in high school at Robbinsdale Cooper and Augsburg College. He now coaches his younger brother, Jalyn, at Minnesota Prep Academy.

“He instills confidence in me,” Lu’Cye said. “Working with me every day. Talking to me. It’s good to have a pops who played basketball at a high level and will tell you what you need to do. It really helps elevate my game.”

After a four-game stretch in November scoring under double figures, Patterson also sent a text message to his head coach on suggestions to get him on track.

“Just asking him what he sees,” Patterson said. “If he feels like I needed to shoot with more confidence or if I needed to take better shots or open shots.”

Playing back home at Williams Arena added a bit of pressure to start the season, but Patterson stayed confident with encouragement from coaches, teammates and family.

“He never lost focus,” Johnson said. “We knew and he knew it was only going to be a matter of time. Now he’s ready to roll. I think our team feeds off him right now. He’s got this energy, this toughness to him. This competitive spirit.”

9:30 p.m., Tuesday at Pauley Pavilion

TV; radio: FS1; 100.3-FM

The Bruins (19-7, 10-5) were ranked as high as 15th nationally before a four-game losing streak in Big Ten play knocked them out of the top 25. They’ve been one of the league’s hottest teams since then with eight wins in the last nine games, including 72-68 at Indiana. Tyler Bilodeau leads UCLA in scoring with 14.2 points per game. The Gophers won their last meeting 83-63 against UCLA in the NCAA tournament in 2013.