Battle’s season high not enough as Gophers’ losing streak grows to 10

By: Tony Liebert |
Feb. 20, 2023: Minnesota’s backcourt struggles continued Monday with only nine points in an 11-point loss to Illinois.

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Full Game Recap:

  • First Half: Dawson Garcia picked up right where he left off Saturday night with four quick points, but unfortunately nobody else followed and the Gophers trailed 13-6 heading into the first media timeout. Minnesota’s frontcourt continued to perform well, scoring the first 12 points for the Maroon & Gold, leading to a 19-12 deficit heading into the under 8-minute media timeout. The Gophers’ backcourt failed to score a single point in the first half; Cooper, Henley, Carrington and Samuels combined to shoot 0-7 from the field. Garcia finished the half with a game-high 12 points and Illinois led 35-29 at the half.

  • Second Half: Illinois came out for the second half strong on an 8-0 run, while the Gophers did not, starting 0-4 from the field and the deficit grew to 43-29 with 17:25 to go. Minnesota fought to get back into the game with a 6-0 run led by Jamison Battle, but Illinois was able to keep the lead around 10 points and led 48-37 heading into the under-12 media timeout. Battle continued to play well, generating a February-high 17 points, but the Fighting Illini still lead by 15 with less than 8 minutes to go. Minnesota’s frontcourt played well for 40 minutes, but the backcourt struggles were too much to overcome and Illinois came out on top 78-69.

Instant Reaction:

The Gophers’ backcourt’s performance tonight was unacceptable. I have been a fan of Ta’lon Cooper’s offensive game all season, but he has been a liability on the defensive end, to say the least. So when you’re supposed to be an offensive weapon and you shoot 1-9 from the field for 2 points and 6 assists, it’s not unacceptable. I still believe he is more than capable of being Coach Johnson’s PG next season with a full roster, but tonight might’ve been his worst game for the Maroon & Gold. Jaden Henley has been up and down all season, so his performance is far less surprising, but less than 10 points from your starting backcourt in back-to-back nights CANNOT happen.

On a positive note, while these losses continue to pile up, I continue to leave games more and more impressed with Dawson Garcia and Josh Ola-Joseph. Garcia has looked like someone who can consistently compete at an All-Conference level when healthy. Ola-Joseph is one of my favorite Gophers players in recent memory, he has NBA athleticism and his offensive game is only getting better. It will be great to see how both players play next to each other down the stretch of the season. Jamison Battle was also terrific tonight, but he’s shown flashes all season and he’s failed to consistently play at this level. Overall, tonight was much like the rest of the season, there were a few things to like, but they showed they have a long way to go to competing within this conference.

What is Next?:

The Gophers will now look ahead to a road game at surging Maryland, Wednesday night at 6 pm. They will have a rare third game this week on Sunday at Nebraska as well. At this point, one more regular season conference win would be some fun momentum heading into the Big Ten tournament. At the end of the day, this season cannot end soon enough for the Gophers.

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