Looking deeper at Ben Johnson's 0-15 record against ranked opponents

Johnson doesn't have a marquee win to lean on as Gophers' head coach.

Dec 21, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach Ben Johnson looks on during the first half against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Thursday night's 20-point loss to Purdue was Ben Johnson's 15th game against a ranked opponent as head coach of the Gophers. It was also his 15th loss. Let's take a deeper look at all the times Minnesota has faced a team ranked in the AP Top 25 poll since 2021-22 and lost.

In these 15 games against ranked opponents, Johnson's Gophers teams have lost by an average of 11.3 points per game. They've had four one-possession losses, three of which came against Wisconsin. They've also lost by as many as 25 points.

2024-25

• 81-61 L vs. No. 20 Purdue (home)

Minnesota currently has four more games against teams currently ranked in the AP top 25 on its 2024-25 regular season schedule, but the first was a 20-point loss to the defending Big Ten regular season champions. Purdue overwhelmed the Gophers in the second half after leading by just a point at the break.

2023-24

• 61-59 L vs. No. 13 Wisconsin (home)
• 84-76 L @ No. 2 Purdue (away)
• 105-97 L @ No. 13 Illinois (away)

The Gophers were competitive in all three games against ranked opponents last season. It was Johnson's best team at Minnesota, and they performed like it against some of the top teams in the Big Ten despite coming up short each time.

2022-23

• 89-70 L @ No. 5 Purdue (away)
• 69-51 L vs. No. 23 Mississippi State (home)
• 63-60 L @ No. 14 Wisconsin (away)
• 61-39 L vs. No. 3 Purdue (home)

Johnson's worst season as head coach of the Gophers came in 2022-23. Minnesota lost by an average of 15.3 points per game against these four ranked opponents.

2021-22

• 76-67 L vs. No. 19 Michigan State (home)
• 71-69 L @ No. 10 Michigan State (away)
• 75-64 L vs. No. 16 Ohio State (home)
• 66-60 L @ No. 11 Wisconsin (away)
• 88-73 L vs. No. 4 Purdue (home)
• 70-45 L @ No. 18 Ohio State (away)
• 68-67 L @ No. 13 Wisconsin (home)

Johnson and the Gophers substantially outperformed expectations in his debut 2021-22 campaign. They were relatively competitive during a tough Big Ten slate against seven different ranked opponents. Four of the losses came by single digits and two of them were by one possession. But the key stat is zero wins, which remains the case three seasons later.

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