Gophers men's basketball faces a Badgers team with cloud hanging over it

Gophers coach Ben Johnson was scouting Sunday's basketball game between Wisconsin and Michigan on TV when the postgame handshake line broke out into a scuffle that shook the college basketball landscape.

The Big Ten suspended Michigan coach Juwan Howard for five games and fined him for hitting a Badgers assistant. Also fined was Wisconsin coach Greg Gard for not allowing Howard to walk away. Suspensions came for players on both sides for fighting.

Whether Johnson likes it or not, there's a different type of attention on the Border Battle when his Gophers (13-12, 4-12 Big Ten) meet the Badgers on Wednesday night — a dark cloud following their rival into Williams Arena.

"I can only control our locker room and how we're going to prepare for them coming in here," he said. "But there's a lot of teaching points."

As much as the incident damaged the Big Ten and the sport, the No. 13 Badgers didn't lose any coaches or key players to Big Ten disciplinary action. They're still very much in the running for a Big Ten regular-season title led by All-America candidate Johnny Davis.

"They're playing too good right now for us to get distracted and worry about other stuff that's out of our control," Johnson said.

Coming off a bounce back 77-60 win last Saturday against Northwestern, nothing would highlight the Gophers' final stretch more than to impede Wisconsin's quest for the conference crown.

"I just can't let them have a notch over me or a step above me," Gophers sixth-year senior Eric Curry said. "It don't sit well with me. I got to beat those guys, especially got to ruin those [Minnesota] guys' homecoming."

The Badgers have Minnesota natives Brad Davison, Tyler Wahl, Steven Crowl and Ben Carlson all returning to their home state. That story line takes a backseat after the Michigan scuffle, but it still adds more to the border rivalry.

Mostly a newcomer-laden squad, the Gophers don't have a roster filled with players who understand what it means to beat the Badgers. The only example for transfers like E.J. Stephens was when the U's football team won Paul Bunyan's Axe in November at Huntington Bank Stadium.

"It know it's a big rivalry," Stephens said. "They brought the axe back to Minnesota. I think my biggest mind-set is just trying to get a W for dudes like [Curry]. This is only my first year here."

Late in a 66-60 loss at Wisconsin on Jan. 30, the Gophers were outscored 6-0 by Davis after the potential Big Ten Player of the Year had been shut down defensively most of the game.

The Gophers easily could've let frustration boil over following the final buzzer, especially after in intense rivalry game on the road. But the Gophers and Badgers participated in a handshake line consistent with what the Big Ten expects in its sportsmanship guidelines.

Whatever the outcome Wednesday, Johnson expects both teams to leave all their competitive energy on the court and act accordingly once the game is over at the Barn.

"In the heat of the moment stuff happens," Johnson said. "You just try to educate your team, your program, your staff as much as you can about trying to stay level-headed as best you can."