After a 75-65 victory over Michigan on Saturday, Ben Johnson does not need to quench his thirst. After his first ten victories, the players took care of him by emptying his water bottles in the locker room.
In Johnson's first nine games as the Gophers men's basketball coach, he lost only once, with an away record of 5-0, including three real away wins.
This is not the last season during the pandemic, when there were few or no crowds, and the restrictions of COVID-19 eliminated the home court advantage and atmosphere of many teams.
Winning away this year is as difficult as usual, but so far, Johnson's Gophers have made it look easy. They ended the plan's 12-game losing streak in a real away game in a victory over Pittsburgh on November 30 and never looked back.
"Our only focus in the second half is to stand up and become the aggressor," Johnson said of his team trailing 36-32 at halftime. "We feel that if we do this, we will give ourselves a chance to win the game."
The Gophers (8-1), who will host Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Tuesday, will not be on the road again until the top ten season against Illinois at the Williams Arena on January 2 restarts. They will really test this kind of road warrior mentality in the back-to-back games between Indiana and Michigan State University on January 9th and 12th.
Here are four things the Gophers learned from Saturday's first ten victory under Johnson, Michigan:
If you didn't see the rhythm of second-year Jamison Battelle on the offensive end in the second half, just wait. It is only a matter of time. The 6-7 transfer of George Washington became famous among the top ten best shooters this year, and he took over his flammable outside shooting within a period of time.
On Saturday, the Wolverines led by four points, but veteran guard Peyton Willis led them 7-2 and helped the Gophers take the lead in the second half.
However, Willis was the top ten player of the week a week ago, he was Robin vs. Batman vs. Michigan, though. Fight to make sure Wolverine stays. They reduced the score to 41-40, but Battelle scored 15 of 21 points in the 25-10 second half, and his jumper in the 6:22 game extended Minnesota's lead to 66-50.
You can tell this excellent former DeLaSalle player that he has a bargaining chip on his shoulders. Not many people think that he and other U transfers can continue to perform well in the top ten leagues. On Saturday, Battle, Willis, Luke Loewe and EJ Stephens combined for 71 of the team's 75 points.
"We don't really care," Battelle said. "Presumably, we have some low-level bosses here to play in the Big Ten. We don't care. We don't care. We have so many different weapons."
Box scoring will show Michigan's Hunter Dickinson scored 19 points and 10 rebounds on 9 of 15 shots. This does not explain how his defense was after his strong performance in the first half.
Dickinson, who leads the team in scoring and rebounding, played a Monster Night game with 14 points and 8 rebounds in the first half. The top ten center in the United States scored at the rim and made a jumper, but the Gophers formulated a strategic plan to limit him at halftime.
Keeping the Wolverines’ three-pointers to 3 of 18 is a big deal, especially when Juwan Howard’s team made 15 three-pointers and made them in the top ten opener against Nebraska. After getting more than 100 points.
But a lot of credit goes to Minnesota’s senior Eric Curry and his teammates. They did not lose with the 7-1, 260-pound Dickinson, 6-10 freshman Mousadiyabat and 6-9 cloth. Langdon Johns fought hard.
In the blink of an eye, Dickinson has multiple defenders on him, and the pressure is relentless. Gophers also put the body on him, keeping him away from the board of directors. He only made 2 of 7 shots in the second half. Diabate had 13 rebounds. But Dickinson, Diabate and Johns only had 7 points in the second half.
The US team defeated Mississippi State University 81-76, and the committee's defense also played a role. Bulldogs 6-11 senior Tolu Smith averaged 15 points per game, but with 3 turnovers, he scored only 7 points on 3 of 9 shots.
It hasn't gotten easier. For Curry, backup center Charlie Daniels and his teammates, the biggest challenge in the paint is yet to come. The Gophers will face each other at Williams Arena on January 2 and Indiana’s All-America player Tres Jackson-Davis on January 9 when they restart the top ten game in Bloomington on January 9. The 7-foot, 290-pound Illinois All-American player Kofi Coburn.
Remember last month in the 87-80 double overtime victory over Princeton at the Asheville Championships, the Gophers missed 14 free throws and almost lost the game?
It really looks like the way Johnson's players stepped up to make crucial late free throws in three real away victories this season half a season ago. Yes, in Saturday's victory, the Gophers missed five fouls in the second half, but they hit them at a critical moment.
The Wolverines trailed by 16 points 68-62, but Battelle and Willis responded at the free throw line at the final 1:12 minute, making 7 of 8 shots to seal the upset, including one five consecutive games.
Entering the game, ranked last in the top ten free throws. The Gophers shot 11 of 16 from the free throw line, which shows that they are not just satisfied with jumpers.
In the victory over Michigan late Saturday, it was very unusual to see the Gophers make mistakes in two 10-second violations without crossing halftime.
The Wolverines are known for causing serious defensive damage with 3/4 of the field pressure, but they didn't actually panic much before that. Minnesota had only two turnovers with 3.5 minutes remaining in the game and ended with four points. Wow.
The Gophers averaged only 8.3 turnovers per game, and tied with Iowa for first place in the Class I and Big Ten leagues in 9 games. But they are better than that lately. In the past three games, they averaged only 3.7 turnovers, for a total of 11 turnovers. During that time, the closest team in college basketball was Duke University with a score of 6.0. touching.
Marcus Fuller reports on Gophers men's basketball and college basketball for Star Tribune. He has 13 years of experience in Twin Cities University and professional sports.
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