Gophers and Penn State take different roster approaches into Saturday's matchup

Saturday's matchup between the Gophers men's basketball team and Penn State at Williams Arena will feature the nation's most experienced roster against one of the least experienced in the Big Ten.

Second-year coaches Ben Johnson and Micah Shrewsberry faced different circumstances with player retention in their respective programs with the Gophers and Nittany Lions last year. But they also have different philosophies on roster building.

Johnson lost several key transfers after first being hired and restocked with several veteran transfers of his own for his first season. The Gophers (7-16, 1-12) decided to go the youthful route this season, going from six seniors to one.

Shrewsberry didn't lose as many transfers when he was hired, but he relied heavily on the portal to stay old. Penn State (15-11, 6-9) has five seniors in its rotation right now, including four starters.

"Either you roll the dice and go back-to-back portal with an entire roster, or at some point you're going to have to hit the reset," Johnson said. "To get continuity, so you're not trying to get seven [transfers]. That's the road I know we needed to take — right, wrong or indifferent."

Despite going through an eight-game losing streak, Johnson seemed excited about his program. It's not just because of top recruits Dennis Evans III and Cameron Christie coming next season. It's because the Gophers played freshmen Pharrel Payne, Joshua Ola-Joseph, Jaden Henley and Braeden Carrington this season. They're the only Big Ten team with four freshmen averaging at least 18 minutes. Freshmen have led the team eight times in scoring.

In last weekend's 68-56 loss against Iowa at home, the Gophers started three freshmen for the first time this season. They might do that again Saturday, with Payne, Ola-Joseph and Henley.

The Gophers are still feeling the effects experience-wise of losing 10 players to the portal after Johnson replaced Richard Pitino in 2021. Texas' Marcus Carr, Iowa State's Gabe Kalscheur, Vanderbilt's Liam Robbins and New Mexico's Jamal Mashburn Jr. became impact transfers elsewhere. They would've been Gophers upperclassmen now if they stuck around.

Instead, Carr and Kalscheur are starring on two Big 12 title contenders. Robbins, who averaged 22 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks during a recent four-game win streak, is one of the SEC's top centers. Mashburn is averaging nearly 20 points for Pitino and the Lobos.

Meanwhile, Johnson's lineup got even younger. Leading scorer and rebounder Dawson Garcia missed the past five games with a bone bruise and is questionable to play Saturday.

The most experienced players healthy enough to play are senior Taurus Samuels and juniors Ta'Lon Cooper and Jamison Battle. They all transferred from other programs to the Gophers. Battle, who led the team in scoring last season, has embraced a leadership role despite his struggles.

"We've been through a lot of ups and downs this year," Battle said. "Being consistent with leading [is important] because we have so many young guys and guys new to the Big Ten."

There was no update on whether the Michigan State game will be rescheduled, but the Gophers will be challenged enough with four games in the next seven days, including Monday at Illinois.

Penn State won't be the last opponent with more experience on the floor. So, the Gophers hope their youngsters take advantage of having bigger roles to finish the season.