Gophers fall short 68-67, giving Wisconsin season sweep

By: Tony Liebert |
Feb. 23, 2021: Ben Johnson opted to throw no hands in the direction of Greg Gard post game, following a 68-67 Gophers loss.

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Full Game Recap:

  • First Half: In what was easily the best atmosphere of the season at the Barn, the Gophers came out with some energy, jumping out to a 10-5 lead. Jamison Battle continued to feed off the crowd, and went nuclear with 11 quick points and an absolute poster on Bucky’s dome piece, Minnesota led 22-20 with 9:49 to go in the first half. Wisconsin began to settle in, as Eastview native Steven Crowl compiled 10 quick points and the Badgers took a 31-28 lead. Wisconsin continued to control the first half pace, but Johnny Davis and B*** Davison combined for only 9 first half points. Minnesota trailed 38-36 at the break.

  • Second Half: The early theme of the second half was physicality. Wisconsin went through an early stretch with three straight turnovers, but the Gophers trailed 44-41 with 16 minutes to go. All-American guard Johnny Davis began to heat up for the Badgers, two big second half threes and Minnesota trailed 52-47 with 11:50 to go. The game began to play at Minnesota’s pace, but Wisconsin was still controlling the scoreboard. The deficit was 57-51 heading into the under eight media timeout. Right when it looked like Wisconsin had taken a firm hold of the game, Payton Willis answered with two monster threes and it was all tied up at 59 with 4 minutes to go. Wisconsin’s Davis fouled out of the game with about 1:30 to go after picking up two quick fouls, but the Gophers weren’t able to capitalize, ultimately falling 68-67.

Instant Reaction & Takeaways:

That was far and above the best atmosphere inside of the Barn this season. With that being said, Wisconsin was simply the better basketball team tonight. I hate to say it, but the Badgers a good all-around college basketball team and I really do not know why they’re not getting more national love. The main reason that Minnesota lost this game was a severe lack of depth. Early, when they were feeding of the energy of the Barn, the Gophers offense looked terrific, but it wasn’t sustainable. This team is simply not equipped to run with Wisconsin for 20 minutes, and it just seemed like it would eventually catch up with them.
The usual factors of a lack of rebounding (38-19 difference) and a 36-20 difference in points scored in the paint were prevalent, but nothing more than they have been all season. That is clearly this team’s weakness and Wisconsin attacked it. Jamison Battle severely cooling with only three second half points off after a hot start definitely did not help. If it weren’t for a late flurry from Payton Willis I doubt that this game would’ve been this close. Luke Loewe probably played his worst game in a month with only 6 points (2-11 shooting) and Eric Curry had only five points and five rebounds.
With all of those circumstances, Ben Johnson still had the Gophers competing and only lost by one point against one of the best teams in the Big Ten. Tonight was another clear game that showed this program is still a ways a way, but they competed and you can still see that a culture is building.

What is Next?:

The Gophers now only have three games remaining in Ben Johnson first season as head coach. With Indiana at home Sunday and Northwestern and Maryland on the road to close out the season, I would expect them to be competitive in all three games. Tonight’s result is definitely dissapointing and a win would’ve likely put a stamp on a 2022 season that mostly exceeded expectations, but most of the time Minnesota sports cannot have nice things. This team and program has built a culutre of competing and tonight was more evidence of that.

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