Four takeaways from the Gophers men's basketball loss to DePaul

DePaul's starting lineup average age was nearly 23 years old. They have the oldest roster among any major conference program.

That's what happens when you rely heavily on the transfer portal, which is something second-year Gophers coach Ben Johnson did last season.

Now he's relying on a younger rotation of four freshmen and a sophomore that learned tough lessons against a veteran opponent in Monday's 69-53 loss against the Blue Demons.

The oldest player in the U's starting lineup was Morehead State transfer Ta'Lon Cooper, who graduated high school in 2019. That was the last year the Gophers had played DePaul and also the last time they suffered a nonconference home loss, a 16-game win streak in such games snapped Monday.

"You try to explain what they're going to face," Johnson said. "But you don't know until you know. ... It's forcing these young guys that you've got to figure it out quick. This is high level college basketball."

Here are four takeaways from the U's first loss of the season and Johnson's first non-league home defeat as Gophers coach:

Bullied on boards

Ever watch those horror movies with so much gore where you have to turn away at some points because it's too difficult to watch?

That scene played out with Gophers fans as DePaul continued to bully the home team on the boards Monday. It started early with six offensive rebounds in less than five minutes. The game ended with the Blue Demons answering a furious U comeback (19-point margin cut to eight points) with rebounding to extend their drives late.

Getting outrebounded 48-32 wasn't as scary as DePaul's 20 offensive boards, which led to the Gophers being outscored 18-9 in second chance points.

Rebounding was a weakness even when Battle played last season. His 6.3 average was the lowest for the Gophers' rebounding leader since 2011-12. It's an issue one player can't solve.

The Gophers were 356th out of 358 Division I teams in offensive rebounding percentage (17.7) and last in the Big Ten in rebounding margin (minus-8.7) in 2021-22. Still, this is an entirely new team that has the size and length to be better on the glass than it was Monday.

Payne's touches

It's not fair to judge freshmen too harshly on mistakes this early in their college career, especially when forced into bigger roles quickly.

That's why Johnson has continued to praise and put more on the shoulders of Pharrel Payne, who had 10 of his 12 points in the first half Monday on 5-for-5 shooting. He's 12-for-13 from the field in three games this season, including 11-for-11 in the last two games.

The 6-9, 255-pound Cottage Grove native was the only consistent scorer early against DePaul, but he also had three of his five turnovers in the opening half. How the Gophers learn to play through Payne and his mistakes, along with Dawson Garcia as a focal point is key.

In the second half, Garcia had 14 points of his team-high 19 points, but Payne took only one shot in 14 minutes.

Backcourt consistency

Cooper and freshman Jaden Henley both had two impressive scoring performances this season in the U's first three games with 17 and 16 points against Western Michigan and St. Francis Brooklyn, respectively.

The offensive efficiency from the starting backcourt, though, dropped off Monday with Cooper and Henley combining for 14 points on 4-for-15 shooting, including 2-for-12 inside the arc.

Cooper is shooting well from three-point range this season (54.5%), but he's surprisingly shooting much worse from the foul line (38.5%). That obviously needs to improve with the ball in his hands so often, especially late in games.

Senior Taurus Samuels played his fewest minutes with just four off the bench. But the Gophers' backcourt should receive a lift when freshman Braeden Carrington gets comfortable. He went scoreless in 15 minutes in his debut, but he looked confident also handling point guard duties at times.

Starting lineup changes?

The Gophers had the same starting lineup for the third straight game Monday with Cooper, Henley, Garcia, Will Ramberg and Treyton Thompson.

Ramberg's presence is strictly for defensive purposes since he's averaging just 3.0 points and 5.3 rebounds in 29.7 minutes per game this year. The 7-foot Thompson (1.7 points and 3.0 rebounds in 13.7 minutes) gives the Gophers size next to Garcia, but he played only five minutes Monday without being in foul trouble.

Johnson might have made a statement by going with Payne in the middle more often with a season-high 27 minutes against DePaul. Is that a sign that Thompson could be replaced in Thursday's starting lineup by Payne against Central Michigan?

Ramberg and Thompson both starting will be interesting to watch in the next few games, especially with Battle's return a possibility "hopefully sooner than later," Johnson said after Monday's loss.