Gophers excited to finish regular season vs. Badgers, coming off first Big Ten home win

Jamison Battle was barely removed from a thrilling 75-74 victory against Rutgers on his buzzer-beating three-pointer Thursday night, when his attention quickly turned to Sunday's matchup vs. rival Wisconsin.

The Gophers junior forward and former DeLaSalle star was excited for his team's first Big Ten home win, especially with its spectacular ending. But finishing the regular season with a victory over the Badgers in front of the home crowd would mean a lot.

"I'm really excited for this next one," said Battle, who had 15 of his 20 points in the second half Thursday on 5-for-9 three-point shooting. "Because it's Wisconsin."

Battle is one of seven Minnesota natives on the U's roster on scholarship, including leading scorer and rebounder Dawson Garcia.

The Gophers (8-20, 2-16 Big Ten) ended a 12-game losing streak Thursday, but that doesn't overshadow what has been an overly difficult season. Two wins to end Big Ten play would equal what they did in the first 16 games. That would give them motivation for the offseason.

"Not a lot is guaranteed," Battle said. "But to start March with those two [victories] like that, you can't write it any better. ... That was a big moment for us, but let's build on it."

Ben Johnson's team was playing competitive basketball the last time it faced Wisconsin. A 63-60 loss on the road to open the new year was tough to swallow. Then came the U's 81-79 overtime loss against Nebraska at home. Minnesota's players got to celebrate the following game, though, after their first Big Ten victory Jan. 12 at Ohio State.

Johnson had been trying to get the Gophers to recapture the confidence and toughness from that first victory against the Buckeyes for the bulk of Big Ten play with no success — until Thursday.

There could be only two more games remaining in the Gophers' season, including the opening round of the Big Ten tournament in Chicago on Wednesday. It's too late for a major turnaround. But there are reasons to think they could win another game.

Battle shooting the ball like he did Thursday (6-for-13 from beyond the arc) was a great sign. But the U's frontcourt tandem of Garcia and freshman Pharrel Payne will be something to watch to finish the season.

Since returning from a foot injury Feb. 18, Garcia has averaged 17.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and shot 38% from three-point range in five games. Payne is averaging 11.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in the past seven games, which included his fifth double-figure scoring game Thursday in that span.

In the Jan. 3 loss in Madison, the Gophers committed 20 turnovers, including six each from Battle and junior point guard Ta'Lon Cooper.

The Gophers have struggled with taking care of the ball all season. They are tied with Illinois with a conference-high 12.9 turnovers per game. But Battle had just one turnover in 40 minutes against Rutgers. Even better, Cooper had 11 assists and zero turnovers.

"His leadership was phenomenal the entire game," Johnson said. "He was connected with the guys on the court. He was connected with me. He was connected in our timeouts. His presence gave everybody confidence."

Probably the biggest change for the Gophers was how they handled a big deficit late. They erased a 10-point hole with 64 seconds left. It resembled Iowa's comeback from 13 points down against Michigan State with 1:34 left on Saturday.

Johnson talked to his players about the crazy ending to the Iowa-Michigan State game.

"If you compete and have a will to win, anything is possible," he told the Gophers. "It's kind of eerie a game later the same scenario. It shows our guys' will to compete and to fight and to never give up."