Minnesota's Dawson Garcia, Pharrel Payne Won't Play Wednesday Against Indiana

Minnesota leading scorer Dawson Garcia will not play during Wednesday's game against Indiana after suffering an ankle injury in the second half of Minnesota's 60-56 loss at Michigan on Sunday Backup freshman forward Pharrel Payne is also out with a concussion.

Updated on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. ET

Minnesota forwards Dawson Garcia (bone bruise) and Pharrel Payne (concussion) won't play on Wednesday against Indiana.

Garcia injured his right ankle in the second half of Minnesota's 60-56 loss at Michigan on Sunday. He leads the team in points per game (14.9) and rebounds (6.3), while shooting 44.7 percent overall, 71.6 percent on free throws and 32.3 percent from 3-point range.

Garcia transferred from North Carolina to Minnesota before the 2022-23 season, and he's been the focal point of the Golden Gophers' offense. At 6-foot-11, he can handle the ball on the perimeter, shoot from the outside and mix it up in the paint. 

"The good thing is it's not anything significant," Minnesota coach Ben Johnson said Tuesday on his radio show regarding Garcia's injury. "The bad news is it could be something that keeps him out of a game potentially. We're going to be smart like we do all of our guys. We're never going to put a guy in jeopardy of further injury for this year or down the line just for a game."

"Thankfully there's no breaks," Johnson said. "He couldn't push off of it very much. He wanted to give it a go. Give him a ton of credit. It just got to a point where you just don't want further injury. He's just out there like a lame duck [against Michigan]. The kid's a warrior, but he just couldn't go."

Payne has come off the bench in all 18 games for Minnesota, and he averages 7.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. The 6-foot-9, 255-pound freshman leads the team with a 67.9 field goal percentage on 78 attempts, but shoots 43.6 percent from the free throw line on 55 attempts. 

With Garcia and Payne out, Minnesota's front court depth takes a major hit. It also creates a daunting matchup against an Indiana team that thrives on scoring in the paint with Trayce Jackson-Davis, Race Thompson, Jordan Geronimo and Malik Reneau. 

In 14 starts for Minnesota this season, 6-foot-7 junior Jamison Battle is second on the team with 12.1 points. He averaged 17.5 points for Minnesota last season, but his field goal percentage has dropped over 10 percent this season. 6-foot-7 freshman forward Joshua Ola-Joseph has started the last 11 games, and he's averaged 7.2 points and 2.8 rebounds. Sophomore center Treyton Thompson could also play a larger role on Wednesday. Thompson started the first seven games for Minnesota, but his playing time has decreased in recent weeks. 

On the Indiana sideline, coach Mike Woodson is out with COVID. Associate head coach Yasir Rosemond had the scout for this game, and he'll handle postgame media obligations. The Hoosiers will continue to be without point guard Xavier Johnson, who injured his foot on Dec. 17, but senior forward Race Thompson (knee) returned on Sunday against Michigan State. 

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