Gophers' leading scorer Jamison Battle will return Thursday against Ohio State

Battle expected back

For the first time this season, the Gophers played without three starters, including their leading scorer Jamison Battle last Saturday against Rutgers. They still picked up their first Big Ten home win.

Battle, who will return Thursday against Ohio State, was out with a non-COVID illness in their last game. That meant the Gophers were missing 18 points and six rebounds per game, but he's also one of the best three-point shooters in the Big Ten.

In his last game, the 6-7 junior forward had 20 points and eight rebounds in an 81-71 loss Jan. 16 against Iowa at Williams Arena. It was Battle's sixth 20-point performance this season.

Senior guard E.J. Stephens cleared health and safety protocol and is also back in the lineup for the Gophers. Stephens is averaging 17.3 points in his last three games, which includes a season-high 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting against the Hawkeyes.

But first-year Gophers coach Ben Johnson learned a lot about his team winning shorthanded with only seven scholarship players.

Senior guard Payton Willis is an extension of his coach on the floor directing the offense, but he more than picked up the slack scoring with a career-high 32 points with eight three-pointers against the Scarlet Knights. He was named co-Big Ten player of the week Monday with Michigan's Hunter Dickinson.

Improved depth

No coach wants to be down three starters and only have seven scholarship players available, but Johnson ended up developing his bench players out of necessity in that situation recently.

Freshman Treyton Thompson played only 17 minutes combined in the first six games he played this season, but he tripled that combined in the last two games. The 7-footer from Glenwood, Minn., played 11 minutes against Iowa and all 40 minutes in a starting role against Rutgers.

Taking full advantage of the opportunity to play more minutes with injuries, Thompson scored 18 points combined on 7-for-10 field goal shooting in two games after not having a field goal previously.

"To his credit, he's prepared himself everyday to have a moment like that when the opportunity presented itself," Johnson said. "That would not have happened in November and December, but it takes time. So hopefully he's proven to himself now you know what it takes to compete at this level."

Daniels will start his third straight game Thursday against the Buckeyes replacing injured captain Eric Curry, who is recovering from a left ankle injury. The 6-9 Daniels had only started four games in his entire career and averaged 11 minutes a game before starting vs. Iowa.

Daniels played 28 minutes and 37 minutes in his two starts vs. Iowa and Rutgers, respectively. But his six rebounds and career-high six assists against the Scarlet Knights was his best game of the season so far.

Ohio State's star forward E.J. Liddell will be one more of a string of talented big men the Gophers have faced in the Big Ten, but he's arguably the most versatile.

The 6-7, 240-pound Liddell averages 19.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and shoots 39.7% from three-point range this season. He's not just a low-post threat like Illinois' Kofi Cockburn and Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis.

"He's a matchup nightmare with his versatility to play inside and out," Johnson said. "He's smart and makes you sick when watching film thinking about how you're going to guard him."

The Gophers were the worst team in the Big Ten in rebounding margin (minus-3.6) last season – and they're close to the same spot in Johnson's first year.

They rank 13th in the Big Ten in rebounding margin (minus-8.7) and 354th in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage (19.1) this season, per Kenpom.

Curry is the U's leading rebounder at 6.8 per game, but without him others had to lead the Gophers on the glass in the last two games. Battle had eight rebounds vs. Iowa. Daniels and Thompson each had a team-high six rebounds against the Scarlet Knights.

Johnson's philosophy is typically to give up crashing the offensive boards for better transition defense, so that can skew the offensive rebounding numbers.

But in the Jan. 12 loss at Michigan State, the Gophers grabbed 12 offensive rebounds. They gave up 15 offensive boards against the Hawkeyes last weekend. That resulted in being outscored 17-3 in second-chance points. But the Gophers outrebounded Rutgers 27-25 and were only beat 12-10 on the offensive boards last Saturday.

Defense was something important to the Gophers' identity in Johnson's first season, but they've struggled to guard the three-point line as well in conference play.

The Gophers are still ranked first in the Big Ten overall in three-point shooting defense at 28.8%, but there has been a big difference against league opponents.

In the Dec. 11 upset in Ann Arbor, the Gophers held the Wolverines to 3-for-18 three-point shooting. But Michigan State twice, Illinois, Indiana shot 42.5% (31-for-73) from beyond the arc. The Scarlet Knights also scorched the Gophers with 12-for-27 shooting from three on Saturday, including Geo Baker's 25 points on 7-for-12 shooting from deep.

Johnson's Gophers were cold from the three-point line at 27.8% (32-for-115) through their first six Big Ten games, but they were a season-best 13-for-24 against the Scarlet Knights. Much of that came from Willis' school-record tying 8-for-13 shooting from the arc.

The Buckeyes are formidable shooting from three at 36.2% in Big Ten games (ranked sixth), but they're even better at defending from long distance. Their three-point defense is second in conference games with opponents shooting just 31.3% in seven games.

Time: 7 p.m. CT, Thursday. Where: Williams Arena. Line: Ohio State 6.5-point favorite. Series: Ohio State leads the series 90-54 but dropped last game 79-75 in the Big Ten tournament on March 11, 2021. TV: ESPN. Online/Live video: ESPN-plus. Radio: 100.3 KFAN

PROJECTED STARTERS

MINNESOTA GOPHERS (11-5, 2-5 in conference)

Pos.-Player Ht. Yr. PPG

G – Payton Willis 6-4 195 Sr. 16.5

G – Luke Loewe 6-4 190 Sr. 7.3

F – Jamison Battle 6-7 225 So. 18.0

F – Charlie Daniels 6-9 230 Sr. 1.9

Key reserves– Sean Sutherlin, G-F, 6-5, Sr., 6.9 ppg; Treyton Thompson, F, 6-11, Fr., 2.4 ppg; Abdoulaye Thiam, G, 6-3, Fr., 1.1 ppg.

Coach: Ben Johnson 11-5 (1st season)

OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (12-4, 5-2)

Pos.-Player Ht. Yr. PPG

G – Meechie Johnson Jr. 6-2 172 Fr. 6.6

G – Malaki Branham 6-5 180 Fr. 10.0

F – Justin Ahrens 6-6 195 Sr. 6.8

C – Zed Key 6-8 245 So. 9.4

Reserves – Jimmy Sotos, G, 6-2, Sr., 2.2 ppg; Cedric Russell, G, 6-2, Sr., 3.6 ppg; Eugene Brown III, G, 6-6, So., 3.3 ppg; Kyle Young, F, 6-8, Sr., 8.7 ppg; Joey Brunk, C, 6-11, Sr., 1.6 ppg.

Coach: Chris Holtmann 213-133 (11th season)

Notable: The Buckeyes will be without starting point guard Jamari Wheeler, who has been unable to practice with a foot injury, according to reports. The former Penn State guard has been a key piece averaging 7.1 points, 3.8 assists, and 1.6 steals in nearly 30 minutes per game. Another game-time decision was freshman guard Meechie Johnson, but he'll get the start tonight for Wheeler. … Holtmann has only played twice at Williams Arena since taking over the Buckeyes in 2017-18 and lost both games, including 77-60 last season. Ohio State's last win at the Barn was 74-72 in overtime on Jan. 6, 2015 under Thad Matta.