Gophers' losing streak, scoring struggles grow in 69-51 loss to undefeated Mississippi State

The Gophers went from playing their worst defense of the season to arguably their best effort a couple of days later.

They forced No. 23 Mississippi State to shoot 1-for-10 from the floor to open Sunday night's game, but then came one of those lengthy scoring droughts that contributed to the U's recent losing streak.

The Gophers went scoreless for nearly six minutes before briefly taking the lead by finally limiting turnovers, moving the ball, and getting players touches inside and out.

That didn't last long. And the scoring woes continued for the Gophers, who suffered their fifth consecutive loss, 69-51 in front of an announced 8,664 at Williams Arena.

Dawson Garcia's offensive resurgence with 20 points wasn't enough to end the slide for the Gophers (4-6), who shot just 29% from the field.

"It's always hard when you don't see the ball go in," Johnson said. "Fighting that human nature of still being able to have energy and being able to bring it when you're not making shots. Credit to them, there's a reason why they're arguably the No. 1 defense in the country."

The last five-game losing streak before January for the Gophers happened during the 9-22 season in 2006-07, which was the end of the Dan Monson era.

Johnson is in his second year leading Minnesota's program. And patience might be running thin among some fans watching the lack of improvement this year, especially offensively.

Entering Sunday, the Gophers ranked last in the Big Ten in scoring (64.4 points per game). Their myriad of issues got even more difficult to fix against the No. 1 defense in the Southeastern Conference. The Bulldogs (9-0), No. 2 nationally giving up 49.6 points per game, used a 10-0 run in the first half to take control.

A year ago, the Gophers upset the Bulldogs 81-76 behind 79 points from their starters, including returning scoring leader Jamison Battle.

It wasn't Battle's night in the rematch. The All-Big Ten preseason forward was held to five points and went 1-for-8 from the field. Frustration came quickly in the second half when Battle picked up his fourth foul with two calls in the first 22 seconds.

"All of us on the floor have to do a better job," Garcia said about getting Battle involved. "We know how special Jamison is — nobody's questioning anything about that."

Battle missed four games to start the year because of a foot injury. A potential injury disaster was avoided Sunday when starting point guard Ta'Lon Cooper came down awkwardly on his right foot and left briefly early in the second half. Mississippi State then extended the margin to 52-34.

In losses against UNLV, Virginia Tech, Purdue and Michigan, the Gophers had to fall behind big to play their best basketball offensively. They outscored their opponent three times in the second half the past four games.

On Sunday, Garcia's tough layup plus the foul led to a three-point play to spark a 9-0 run. Joshua Ola-Joseph's four straight points cut it to 52-43 with nine minutes to play.

The Bulldogs, who scored 34 points in the paint, ruined any comeback hopes with Tolu Smith and Shakeel Moore combining for 22 of their 37 points in the second half, including Moore's three to make it 64-48.

Battle made his first field goal of the game in response with a three at the 2:50 mark, but the game ended with a near three-minute scoring drought.

After getting past the most grueling stretch of the early season, the Gophers will try to get their offensive mojo back Wednesday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

"We matched them [the Bulldogs] physically, but shots weren't falling," Ola-Joseph said. "We can't make mistakes and kill the momentum. We need to have that edge to us and close out games."