Can Gophers get first win against ranked team under Ben Johnson? Purdue stands in the way.

In his fourth season as Gophers men’s basketball coach, Ben Johnson is looking for his first win against a ranked opponent.

Fans have reason to feel anguish over Johnson’s 0-15 record against ranked foes since he took over for the 2021-22 season.

So they can imagine what it would mean if the Gophers (8-5, 0-2 Big Ten) pull off an upset Thursday night against No. 20 Purdue at Williams Arena.

“Beating Purdue would be great,” Johnson said. “I want our guys to not have the outside pressure of that other stuff. … But we know how good Purdue is, ranked or unranked. You beat Purdue at home or away, that’s a big-time win.”

The last time the Gophers defeated a ranked opponent was under former coach Richard Pitino against Purdue in a 71-68 victory at the Barn on Feb. 11, 2021. Johnson was still an assistant coach at Xavier.

In Pitino’s last season, the Gophers had a 5-6 record against ranked opponents, including victories over Iowa, Michigan State, Ohio State and Michigan at home. Michigan and Iowa were top-10 teams.

Minnesota’s losing streak against ranked opponents is 17 in a row, dating back to two losses at the end of that 2020-21 season.

“It would mean everything,” senior forward Dawson Garcia said. “That’s why you play college basketball. That’s why you come to Minnesota. You want to be that ranked team. If you’re not that ranked team, you want to knock off those ranked opponents. So, we’ve got a great chance on our home floor on Thursday.”

The Gophers missed an opportunity to face their first ranked foe this season after falling 68-66 in overtime to Wichita State on Thanksgiving in Orlando. Minnesota could have played Florida (currently 13-0 and ranked No. 6 nationally) the next day, but ended up losing to Wake Forest 57-51 to finish the Florida trip in late November.

Garcia, who is having a career year averaging 19.1 points and 7.4 rebounds, struggled with consecutive games of scoring less than double figures in Florida, but he’s been playing at an all-league level again.

“Wichita State still stings,” said Johnson, who also played without senior guard Mike Mitchell Jr. in the Nov. 13 loss against North Texas at home. “You wish you had a couple redos, but when you have a new team so much of it is hitting adversity and being able to figure it out.”

The Gophers are healthier now since Mitchell’s return after missing seven games because of a high-ankle sprain. He has taken pressure off Garcia by averaging 16.8 points on 54% shooting from three-point range in the past four games, including 6-for-8 from long distance in Sunday’s 90-68 victory vs. Morgan State.

“I think everybody just learned how real it is,” Garcia said. “We don’t want to have that same feeling as after that Indiana game. It’s just laying everything on the line.”

Last season, Garcia had 29 points at No. 12 Illinois, but the Gophers lost 105-97 in Champaign. Minnesota dropped an 84-76 game at No. 2 Purdue after leading by 10 points in the second half. By far the most gut-wrenching loss, though, was against No. 11 Wisconsin 61-59 in Madison.

Five of the U’s losses against ranked opponents the past three seasons were by six points or fewer, so it seems a breakthrough moment might be on the horizon for Minnesota’s program.

Johnson’s signature win so far was arguably last year with a 59-56 victory over Michigan State at home, but the Spartans were unranked.

The Gophers played only three ranked teams last season, a sign that it was a relatively down year for the Big Ten outside of Purdue.

“More than anything, we want to be competitive,” Johnson said. “The ranking is great. Beating Purdue, that would be great, but we want to win this game because it’s a league game. It’s the next one at home.”

7 p.m. Thursday at Williams Arena

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