Gophers men’s basketball team plunges further with home loss to Northwestern

A few years ago, Ben Johnson faced Northwestern for the first time as the Gophers head coach. The Wildcats were wondering if Chris Collins was the right fit to take their program to the next level.

Collins reached the program’s first NCAA tournament in 2017, then suffered through five straight losing seasons and had no Big Ten finish higher than 10th after that magical year in that stretch.

But after Northwestern stuck by Collins, he orchestrated another turnaround with back-to-back NCAA tournaments the past two seasons.

“We’re trying to establish that,” Johnson said of Collins’ winning culture. “We don’t have that yet. We’re trying to do it game to game. They’re able to do it year to year, and that’s a powerful thing.”

With the Gophers still not consistent winners, Johnson is arguably at a point in his tenure when he might also need for people to be patient with him, especially after Tuesday’s 75-63 loss against Northwestern at Williams Arena.

“We are just mentally stuck right now,” Johnson said.

BOXSCORE: Northwestern 75, Gophers 63

Big Ten standings

After riding high with road victories at UCLA and USC, the Gophers (14-14, 6-11 Big Ten) went from 11th place entering the week to 15th after losses to Penn State and Northwestern in the last two games.

Only the top 15 teams in the standings make the Big Ten tournament this season, so desperation mode has to be turned on now.

“On the road, we’ve been coming out with that mentality,” said Dawson Garcia, who finished with 26 points and nine rebounds. “Couple big games at home [Michigan and Oregon wins] we had that, but it can’t waver if you want to be successful. You got to be consistent with the energy and the urgency.”

The Wildcats (15-13, 6-11) played with two of their top three scorers, Brooks Barnhizer and Jalen Leach, out for the season with injuries, but they jumped out to a 10-0 lead Tuesday. Nick Martinelli was the catalyst early and late, as he finished with 19 of his 29 points in the second half.

Summing up how the night was going for the Gophers, Martinelli bulldozed his way to the rim against Garcia and other defenders to help Northwestern pull away.

The 6-7 junior and Big Ten’s leading scorer had three baskets plus the foul in the second half, including a second one on Garcia to extend it to a 64-47 lead with 7:05 to play.

In the first half, the Gophers used a 21-11 run to tie the game, but they never got another opportunity to take the lead. Northwestern managed a 36-31 halftime advantage after making seven of its nine three-pointers in the half.

Struggling to match their opponent’s physicality to fight through screens, the Gophers allowed Northwestern to get open shots from the perimeter and at the basket throughout the game.

Minnesota’s starting backcourt of Mike Mitchell Jr., Lu’Cye Patterson and Femi Odukale also struggled mightily with just 14 points on 6-for-19 shooting from the field combined.

An announced crowd of 8,890 watched Johnson’s home record in the Big Ten fall to 2-7 this season with only one game remaining at the Barn, March 5 vs. rival Wisconsin. The Gophers have four straight home losses, the most since losing seven in a row in 2022-23.

But the Gophers are 4-4 on the road. That made Johnson simulate being away from home in his pregame routine Tuesday. He decorated the locker room and spoke to the team differently.

“We know we’re back at home,” Odukale said. “He just wanted to do that, so we come out with the same urgency.”

A first-round bye opportunity gone, the Gophers have no choice but to win the last three regular-season games to make it to Indianapolis. That starts Saturday at Nebraska.

“Even the most talented players, it’s a grind,” Johnson said. “You’re battling the opponent and battling the mental grind to try to get unstuck, that paralyzed feeling. We got to keep pushing.”