Confidence game: Gophers men's basketball seeks new scoring mind-set

Gophers senior guard Taurus Samuels heard cheers from the Williams Arena crowd when his jumper banked in with 40 seconds left in the first half Thursday vs. Purdue — keeping his team from scoring under double figures at halftime.

Yes, you read that right. The Gophers were less than a minute away from a nine-point half, but 12 points after Samuels' three-point play was still a nightmarishly bad start to one of the lowest-scoring games in team history.

The 61-39 loss Thursday night against the No. 3-ranked Boilermakers featured the fewest points scored by the Gophers in a game since 1950-51. That was a 32-26 loss at Indiana. You must go further back, though, for the fewest Gophers points scored in a home loss. World War II was not yet over when the U fell to the Iowa Seahawks 49-30 at the Barn on March 3, 1945.

"I have to figure out what I can do better to get us going and more of a rhythm offensively," said coach Ben Johnson, who hopes his team can bounce back Sunday at Michigan.

The Gophers (7-10, 1-6 Big Ten) in Johnson's first two seasons have not seen their offensive confidence any lower than it is right now. Their 62.9 points per game is the lowest in the Big Ten by far and worst since averaging 60.6 points the season Dan Monson's coaching tenure ended in 2006-07. They scored just 40 points in a game twice that season.

"We just could not offensively get into rhythm or get confidence," Johnson said. "We couldn't get an open look to fall, which can happen sometimes. I guess the disappointing thing is we just can't let it impact your overall game."

In the Big Ten, the Gophers are ranked 13th in field goal shooting (42.5%), 10th in three-point shooting (32.5%) and last in free throw shooting (59.3%) and turnover margin (minus-1.88).

"Sometimes shots just don't drop," Samuels said. "When that happens, we can't let missed shots dictate how hard we play defensively or even how we go about getting good shots."

Johnson has been dealt a difficult hand with a combination of inexperience and injuries limiting the Gophers' scoring capabilities.

Already down veteran forwards Isaiah Ihnen and Parker Fox because of season-ending injuries, the Gophers played Thursday minus freshman shooter Braeden Carrington, who is out three to four weeks with a leg injury.

Battle, averaging 13 points this season, went scoreless for the first time in his career Thursday on 0-for-9 shooting while dealing with a lingering back injury. He played only four minutes in the second half.

In the U's first Big Ten win last week, Dawson Garcia tied his career high with 28 points at Ohio State, but he saw his eight-game streak of scoring in double figures end Thursday, with seven points (all in the second half) on 3-for-13 shooting against Purdue.

The Gophers have four freshmen in the rotation this season, but they haven't been able to develop much confidence on offense. So it was difficult to ask Pharrel Payne, Jaden Henley and Joshua Ola-Joseph to suddenly provide a scoring boost against the top team in the Big Ten.

Ola-Joseph, who started the past 10 games, has shown growth with consistent playing time, though. He led the Gophers with 13 points Thursday, including 11 in the second half.

Purdue's defense with 7-4 star Zach Edey manning the middle and blocking four shots had a lot to do with the Gophers' abysmal offensive performance, but ESPN analyst Jon Crispin had a suggestion to help fix some of the problems.

"It's got to be better ball movement," Crispin said on Thursday's telecast. "There have been short passes and easy close-outs. And really no driving lanes because the ball has been compacted."

Fewest points scored in a game by the Gophers men's basketball team since 1944

1950-51: 32-26 L at Indiana

1944-45: 49-30 L vs. Iowa Seahawks

1947-48: 54-35 L at California

1948-49: 35-28 W vs. Indiana

2022-23: 61-39 L vs. Purdue

1949-50: 55-39 L at Purdue

1971-72: 55-40 L at Marquette

2006-07: 49-40 L vs. Northwestern