Gophers insist they are confident after suffering ugly loss to North Texas in men’s basketball

The Gophers men’s basketball team suffered arguably its worst nonconference loss under coach Ben Johnson on Wednesday, but players remained steadfast on being able to bounce back.

Senior Dawson Garcia knows what feeling dejected is like after playing on a 9-22 Minnesota squad in 2022-23. The Gophers’ 54-51 loss against North Texas was ugly at times.

“This is my third locker room since I’ve been around the U of M,” said Garcia, who had 24 points. “I’m inspired, honestly. There have been times like in the first year, you’re like ‘Man’ and still show up the next day. But I’m inspired with this roster and this team.”

Playing without starting guard Mike Mitchell Jr., the Gophers were abysmal offensively Wednesday in the first half, scoring only 14 points on 14% shooting from the field. They overcame an 11-point deficit, but Garcia didn’t have enough help down the stretch to escape their first loss against a non-high major team at home since 2015.

The Gophers (2-1) haven’t lost back-to-back home games against non-high major opponents since the 8-23 season under Richard Pitino in 2015-16.

“You want to be able to learn through wins, obviously,” said Johnson, in his third season. “Even in a loss, we’ve got to be able to find a way to take a step. With new guys and new situations, it’s so key to just continue to take those steps. It’s huge because obviously these games are going to keep coming.”

Coming off a 19-win NIT team season, Johnson returned only two starters and four players after mass transfer portal losses. Six players were dealing with injuries or illness this week, including five listed out or questionable on the Big Ten’s availability report Wednesday.

The biggest injury loss is to Mitchell Jr., the team’s best three-point shooter and facilitator. He’s out because of an ankle sprain for at least another week. Backcourt depth is now an issue with seniors Tyler Cochran (foot) and Caleb Williams (sick) also sidelined indefinitely.

Senior Frank Mitchell started at center Wednesday, making his season debut after recovering from a shoulder injury. He went scoreless with five rebounds in 14 minutes.

“It was Frank’s first game back and he’s easing back into it,” senior center Trey Edmonds said. “He was pretty hard on himself after the game, but you know he’s just gonna be just fine. We’ll bounce back. We have the utmost confidence in ourselves, regardless of what’s going on.”

Gophers guards Lu’Cye Patterson, Brennan Rigsby, Femi Odukale and Isaac Asuma combined for just 20 points on 7-for-35 shooting from the field, including 4-for-21 from three-point range against North Texas.

“I don’t want these guys to have doubt creep in,” Johnson said. “There were some good things out there. Hopefully, the learning curve will set in. And we can flip it and we can get a good win Saturday.”

Garcia, a 6-11 forward, tied a school record by going 10-for-10 on free throws Wednesday, and averaging 26 points, 7.7 rebounds and shooting 66.7% from the field. But his team was picked to finish last in the Big Ten this season.

“I still 100 percent believe we’re going to do the right things,” Garcia said. “Just because I know what I’ve seen how we’ve come together. We’re a super-connected group. I’m not just staying that as player talk up here. Every single player, we talk to each other like, ‘Let’s go compete. It’s time.’”

3 p.m. Saturday at Williams Arena

TV, radio: BTN, 100.3-FM

The Bulldogs (2-2) finished 23-10 and won the Ivy League conference tournament last season to reach the NCAA tournament. They lost three starters, including Danny Wolf, who transferred to Michigan. Still, Yale was picked to finish second in the Ivy League in the preseason poll behind Princeton. Senior guards John Poulakidas and Bez Mbeng combine to average 35.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 7.2 assists this season. Poulakidas had 23 points and shot 5-for-12 from three-point range in a 92-84 loss at Purdue on Nov. 11. … The Gophers are 3-0 all-time against Yale, including a 95-54 win at home in the last meeting in 1980.