Four things learned: Stepped-up guard play shows in Gophers’ men’s basketball bounce-back win vs. Yale

Ben Johnson’s halftime speech Saturday for the Gophers men’s basketball team was simple: Be aggressive or get benched.

For the second straight game, the Gophers were struggling mightily to score in the first half. They lacked the confidence to consistently attack the paint and settled for jump shots. The jump shots weren’t falling.

Playing with a different edge in the second half, the Gophers pulled off a 59-56 win against Yale at Williams Arena. The Gophers made 10 of their 12 field goals in the second half inside the arc. They outscored the Bulldogs 16-10 in points in the paint after halftime.

“My challenge to the guys is we were not even close to being aggressive enough,” Johnson said. “I said if I see one more guy who can’t turn the corner on a ball screen you’re not playing again. We needed to get downhill.”

Here are four things learned about the Gophers from Saturday’s win against Yale:

The Gophers hope senior guards Mike Mitchell Jr., Tyler Cochran and Caleb Williams are healthy at some time this season, but they’ll need the available backcourt players to make an impact in their absence.

Minnesota’s four guards combined for just 20 points on 7-for-35 shooting in Wednesday’s 54-51 loss against North Texas, including 4-for-21 from three-point range. They surpassed that production Saturday with Brennan Rigsby, Lu’Cye Patterson, Femi Odukale and Isaac Asuma combining for 27 points on 11-for-33 shooting Saturday.

The biggest determining factor in the Gophers’ first loss, Johnson said, was committing 13 turnovers that turned into 18 points for North Texas. They flipped that around Saturday by winning the points-off-turnovers battle 15-2 and committing only three turnovers. Patterson also had six of the team’s 12 assists.

Garcia was told by his coaches to set a goal of 10 free throw attempts a game this season. He averaged 5.7 free throw attempts last season, but that’s now up to 8.8 through four games.

In the past two games alone, the 6-11 former Prior Lake standout has made 20 of 22 free throws, including 10-for-12 Saturday, all in the second half.

Garcia is shooting a career-best 85.7% on free throws this season. He’s also averaging career highs in scoring (25.5), three-point percentage (57.1) and field goal percentage (57.1). It’s early, but it’s been years since a Gophers player started the season shooting this hot.

After wins last season, the Gophers picked a game MVP to wear a simulated professional wrestling championship belt, and that tradition is ongoing.

For the third time this year, Minnesota’s players posed for pictures in the locker room with the “Big Warrior” belt. On Saturday, Rigsby not surprisingly took the honor, but he wasn’t alone. Senior Trey Edmonds also got to hold the belt even after playing just three minutes against Yale.

“He was a leader on the bench and had a great attitude,” Garcia said. “That’s what winner’s are made of.”

Edmonds had been playing extended minutes until Saturday, when the Gophers used a seven-man rotation. Part of the reason for his limited action was to get Frank Mitchell more comfortable in his second game returning from a shoulder injury. Mitchell finished with seven rebounds in 22 minutes.

Lost in the feel-good come-from-behind victory Saturday was a disturbing trend continuing for the Gophers. They’re having major trouble shooting from long distance.

The Gophers are shooting 30.7% from three-point range through four games. That’s on pace for their worst three-point shooting since they shot 28.4% during the 2020-21 season.

Johnson thought he was adding shooters in the portal. Rigsby shot 35.5% from deep at Oregon last season. Patterson shot 35% on three-pointers at Charlotte before transferring home. They were both shooting 25% before Saturday.

It seems like a matter of time before the Gophers starting seeing shots fall at a higher rate, right? They’re shooting 9-for-40 on long ones in the past two games, including 3-for-17 against Yale.