Gophers have 'extra fire' to end skid against arch-rival Wisconsin

The U hasn't beat the Badgers since Feb. 5, 2020.

In the first two seasons under head coach Ben Johnson, the Gophers men’s basketball team lost all four games against arch-rival Wisconsin. Those four losses have come by a combined 14 points.

The largest margin of victory came in the U’s first matchup against the Badgers under Johnson on Jan. 30, 2022, in Madison, Wis. — a 66-60 Wisconsin victory. Since then, the Gophers have lost by scores of 68-67, 63-60 and 71-67.

“Now it’s our job to try and finish that. We’ve been close,” Johnson said, “but now how do we get over the hump and finish one?”

The Gophers will look to finally finish one against the 13th-ranked Badgers at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at Williams Arena and will simultaneously look to end a three-game skid. Overall, the Gophers haven't beat the Badgers since a 70-52 victory in Minneapolis on Feb. 5, 2020. They may have to do it without starting point guard Elijah Hawkins, who missed Thursday’s game at Michigan State with a sprained ankle and it's unclear if he’ll be able to go on Tuesday.

If Hawkins is unable to play, the U would have to rely on guards Cam Christie, Braeden Carrington and Mike Mitchell Jr. to fill the void. During Thursday’s game at Michigan State, Mitchell primarily filled that role, although that was partially by necessity with Christie getting into early foul trouble and forcing him to sit for long stretches.

Christie said he played point guard in high school as well as in practice with the Gophers. He feels comfortable with the position and said he'll play "whatever position I can that's gonna help us win the most games." 

Overall, Johnson was pleased with how his team held up without its floor general in the loss to the Spartans, saying those guards should have confidence after showing they could play the point for long stretches.

“From the standpoint of taking care of the ball, running offense, getting us in our stuff, making sure we get good shots, I’m hoping that they build confidence from that and that they see that,” Johnson said. “… I want those guys to have confidence when they’re on the floor that they can get the job done and do a good enough job to put us in a position.”

The main area of focus for the Gophers, however, will be on the defensive side of the ball. The Badgers tout a talented and balanced offense, including AJ Storr, a sophomore transfer from St. John’s, who leads the team in scoring at 15.3 points per game. He’s one of the Badgers’ new pieces along with John Blackwell, a freshman guard from Michigan who averages 9.1 points per game, who have appeared to fit in seamlessly with their strong returning talent.

That returning talent includes Minnesota natives Steven Crowl, a junior forward from Eagan, and Tyler Wahl, a graduate student forward from Lakeville, who have been staples of the Badgers lineup the last few seasons. Crowl averages 12 points and 7.8 rebounds. Wahl, meanwhile, averages 11.5 points and 5.6 boards.

“It really starts defensively with being locked in and being consumed with that end of it, and I think if you are, that’ll piggyback into being aggressive and being good offensively,” Johnson said.

The challenge in that is containing a team that has a lot of veterans who make the right plays and rarely make mistakes. With so many key players having spent years in the system, they know what they do well and execute at a high level, Johnson said.

“All that I think attributes to the success they’ve had and they’ve got good players that have gotten better over time and have really developed and grown their games,” Johnson said. 

The Gophers are certainly an improved team from a year ago, too. But they won’t be in for an easy task against their arch rival and a top-25 team. But if they can take care of the basketball, be disciplined on defense and find ways to keep the offense flowing, everyone at The Barn should be in good a good game of basketball Tuesday night.

“You want that competition. … They’re obviously a really good team, look at what they’ve done this year, they added some really good pieces,” Parker Fox said. “… I think we’re all kind of excited. You kinda get that extra juice, Wisconsin comes into your place and it’s that rivalry. For me personally, I grew up on it, going to games and being a Gopher fan, so it’s definitely a little extra fire, flame to the fire, so I’m really excited.” 

Pharrel Payne defends against the Badgers during the 2022-23 season / Photo by Kelly Hagenson, University of Minnesota