Evanston, Illinois. – It was a huge disappointment, as coach Ben Johnson knew the offense would struggle to put points on the scoreboard on Saturday without Dawson Garcia, the Gophers’ top scorer at Northwestern. It was another field.
Adding turnover issues to one of the worst defensive performances in Big Ten play, the Gophers trailed 81-61 against the Wildcats in front of a crowd of 6,064 at the Welsh Ryan Arena on Saturday afternoon. I lost.
“Giving up 81 points and combining that with 15 turnovers is not a recipe for success or giving yourself a chance.” It’s a pity I can’t.”
Jamison Battle led by 20 points with a 7-of-12 shooting from the field for the Gophers (7-13, 1-9 Big Ten). However, Garcia missed two straight games while recovering from a bone bruise in his right foot sustained in the January 22 loss in Michigan.
Chase Odige and Boo Booby combined for 45 points and 10 assists for the Wildcats (15-5, 6-3) who shot 52% from the field.
“I think the offense is going to work,” Johnson said.
In Wednesday’s 61-57 game against Indiana, Johnson was proud that his seven scholarship players played enough to put the Hoosiers in the lead until the end. Saturday was the opposite, with Northwestern leading 45-28 in the first half and shooting 55% of the time.
Freshman big man Farrell Payne made his first career start on Saturday after missing the previous game during concussion protocol. At turnovers, we struggled to establish an inside presence.
“Today, for some reason, I thought it didn’t feel the same even if I was leading early on,” Johnson said. “We can’t give in to the situation. We have to find a way to play with the same advantage we had against Indiana.”
Battle won the first basket of the game on a jumper to take a 9–5 lead. Joshua Ola-Joseph floated down the lane to give him an 11-7 advantage, but that awakened Northwestern’s explosive backcourt.
Scoring a game-high 24 points, Odigi took the lead in helping the Wildcats outscore the Gophers 31–8 in the first half. The senior guard scored eight points in a deciding 11-0 run.
Battle didn’t look open early, but his 3-pointer cut it to 27-18 with 6:43 left. In the first half he scored 13 points in 11 turnovers for the Wildcats, while Taron scored back-to-back steals from his Cooper’s Bouillet to spur a 9–0 run. Bouillet recorded 21 goals and eight assists.
The Gophers entered Saturday as the lowest-scoring team in the Big Ten with 62.2 points per game. It’s been an even bigger nightmare since the 70-67 win in Ohio State on January 12th. He averaged just 55 points for the U’s during a five-game losing streak.
To make matters worse, the Gophers are dead last in foul shooting in Division I this season, going 16-26 on Saturday.
A defensive identity is what the Gophers needed to adopt in Johnson’s second season. After holding the Hoosiers to his 37% shooting on Wednesday, Minnesota took a step back on Evanston.
“I’m just emphasizing the little things,” Battle said. “That’s how a great team does it. They’re very committed to something that you don’t think is important but actually makes a big impact. That’s how we take a step.” I think that is where we need it.”
In the second half, the Wildcats extended their lead to 61-36 after a 3-3 from Odigi in the late closeout with the Gophers playing in a disjointed 2-3 zone.
Effort wasn’t always the issue. It lacked chemistry and communication. After a Cooper layup put him in the 17-point deficit late in the second half, Audigier blew the defenders out with an uncontested dunk at half-court.
The toughest play in the Big Ten continues in five of the next eight games, including Wednesday’s game against Rutgers.
