Mike Mitchell’s return gives Gophers a three-point shooting boost, but the backcourt’s still building

Ben Johnson insisted his Gophers men’s basketball team was better at three-point shooting than the numbers showed this season, but that was hard to believe when the results kept saying otherwise.

Mike Mitchell Jr. was out for seven games because of a high ankle sprain. How could the Gophers expect to be much of a three-point threat without one of the Big Ten’s top shooters from last season?

The Gophers (6-4, 0-1 Big Ten) head into their second early conference game Monday at Indiana ranked second-to-last in the Big Ten and 284th nationally in three-point accuracy at 29.7%, but help getting buckets from long range has arrived.

Mitchell, a senior guard, made his return from a left ankle sprain in impressive fashion with a season-high 17 points on 5-for-9 shooting from beyond the arc in Wednesday’s 90-72 loss to Michigan State at Williams Arena.

“It was really tough,” Mitchell said about sitting out for a month. “Just because I want to go out there and help my team.”

He started the first two games, but Mitchell was sidelined after getting hurt Nov. 9 vs. Nebraska Omaha. He came off the bench early Wednesday before shooting lights out for a stretch in the second half, including three consecutive three-pointers.

Suddenly, the Gophers have more legitimate offensive threats than leading scorer Dawson Garcia, who leads them with a 19-points-per-game average. Mitchell and Lu’Cye Patterson are both averaging 10 points.

“It means everything,” Garcia said. “Not too many people can come in off an ankle injury and play the way he did and make shots the way he did. And be in the type of condition. ... He’s only going to get better and better. It opens the floor up for everybody once you had a deadeye on the floor and somebody who can [be a playmaker].”

Mitchell hit four shots from deep in the second half, but that only cut his team’s deficit to 11. Defending was an issue for Mitchell and the rest of his teammates. The Gophers allowed the Spartans to hit seven of their 11 three-pointers in the second half and score 27 transition points.

“It felt good to be back out there,” Mitchell said. “But I apologized to the team after the game. I wished I could’ve helped on defense a lot more. I’ll be better next game.”

In defense of Mitchell’s defense, he still lacked the lateral quickness to hang with Michigan State’s speed and athleticism. It won’t be any easier Monday against the Hoosiers, so the Gophers need to support Mitchell defensively until he’s back to full speed.

“He really hasn’t done much,” Johnson said of Mitchell practicing. “But obviously, you guys can tell, he’s a difference-maker in terms of being able to space the floor. He provides offensive firepower and a guy who can make shots and take pressure off our offense. But he’s still got to get into the sync of things and into the rhythm.”

The Gophers wanted to limit Mitchell to 15-20 minutes Wednesday, but he played 22 minutes. Isaac Asuma and Patterson played the most against Michigan State, 31 minutes for Asuma and 26 for Patterson. Femi Odukale and Brennan Rigsby are starters, but they played just 17 minutes combined Wednesday in the second half.

Patterson emerged to lead the team in assists (3.9) in Mitchell’s absence. Odukale leads the team in steals (2.3) and blocks (1.0). Rigsby has scored in double figures three times. And Asuma does a little bit of everything and is more advanced than most freshmen.

The Gophers should be a better three-point shooting team with Mitchell, but figuring out the best backcourt rotation with him in the mix again is still a work in progress.

“The minutes will obviously be dispersed a little bit differently when you’re adding a guy who can log 25-30,” Johnson said. “What that looks like yet I’m not quite sure. We’ll figure it out because Mike’s a guy who is going to demand some minutes. We’ll get that straight, but we probably need that. We need to be a team with our depth that keeps guys fresh.”

5:30 p.m. Monday at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.

TV; radio: BTN; KFAN (100.3-FM)

The Hoosiers (7-2) were projected as a Big Ten title contender this season because of their loaded frontcourt. Indiana’s top three scorers are 6-9 or taller, including sophomore sensation and top scorer Mackenzie Mgbako, who has had games of 31 and 25 points this season. Malik Reneau and Arizona transfer Oumar Ballo average more than 27 points and 14 rebounds combined.