Gophers men's basketball looks to recapture early road success

Life on the road for the Gophers men's basketball team was a nightly celebration during the first month of the season.

Ben Johnson opened his head coaching career with four straight victories away from home, including neutral-site games. The postgame locker room atmosphere after wins was fun and festive, highlighted by players spraying their coach with water bottles after beating Michigan on Dec. 11.

That December night in Ann Arbor was Johnson's first Big Ten win but also his last on the road.

Celebration turned to frustration away from Williams Arena for the Gophers in 2022, with seven road losses in a row entering Wednesday's game at Maryland.

"These guys more than anything owe it to themselves to go out with a bang," Johnson said. "Hopefully that means we end with some wins."

After Sunday's tough 84-79 loss to Indiana on senior night to finish the home slate, Johnson's team is hoping to recapture its earlier road warrior mentality. The U's regular season ends with two straight road games, including Sunday at Northwestern.

The Gophers (13-14, 4-14 in the Big Ten) can climb as high as an 11th seed in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament on March 9 in Indianapolis. But they would need to accomplish something in consecutive games that has eluded them since December: a road win.

"We want to make sure that we end it the right way in terms of our play, in terms of with the product that's on the floor," said Johnson, who also cares about more than wins and losses.

The Gophers trailed by 27 points in the second half Sunday against the Hoosiers at home before storming back with a 36-12 run to cut the deficit to three points before running out of time.

That momentum gained during the furious comeback is something the Gophers desperately need to travel with them to Maryland. A big boost would be to have similar success from three-point range after shooting 14-for-36 from long distance on Sunday.

"Early success defending, early success scoring the ball," Johnson mentioned as key factors on the road. "The road is hard and it's hard for a reason. Part of it is the environment but part of it is our league is really, really good."

The Terrapins (14-15, 6-12) had struggled just as much as any team to find consistency in Big Ten play, but they've won three of their past four games, including a 75-60 upset Sunday over No. 22 Ohio State at home.

Maryland's 90-74 win at Nebraska on Feb. 18 sparked its recent upswing in the last stretch of the regular season. Senior point guard Fatts Russell has scored 20 points or more in five of his last six games, including a season-high 27 points on 6-for-10 three-point shooting against the Buckeyes.

Gophers senior point guard Payton Willis averaged 18 points in his first 10 games away from home this season, but he was battling illness and had his worst back-to-back games of the season the last time he was on the road.

Willis, who ended up sidelined with COVID-19 protocol, had just 10 points and six turnovers combined in losses at Ohio State (70-45) and Penn State (67-46) last month. Those were Minnesota's first consecutive games scoring under 50 points since the 2013-14 season, but Willis said he didn't feel like the team ever quit in those losses.

"I never had that mentality," Willis said. "I know what we're capable of. It was just a couple bad performances."

Finishing the year without Willis healthy would've been a daunting task. But he returned to form with 28 points on seven three-pointers Sunday against Indiana.

Willis' playmaking ability takes pressure off the U's leading scorer Jamison Battle, who shot 10-for-28 in his last two road games being the focal point of opposing defenses.

"He gives everybody in that locker room confidence when he's playing well," Johnson said. "A confident Payton is definitely a positive thing for our team and it's something that will help us especially going on the road."