Gophers coach Ben Johnson thought slowing down Purdue's 7-4 Zach Edey was the toughest task in Thursday's matchup, but it turns out it was trying to get the Big Ten's worst offense off the ground.
Late in the first half, the Gophers were locked into a nightmarish scoring start to the game, with single digits on the scoreboard and halftime closing in.
To make matters worse, the Boilermakers tossed up an alley-oop above the box for Edey to slam through the basket while being fouled.
Edey barely played in the second half and finished with 12 points, but the Gophers managed to score just 12 points in the first half of a humbling 61-39 loss to No. 3 Purdue in front of an announced crowd of 9,251 at Williams Arena.
"I got to find a way to help guys with that confidence piece," said Johnson, who saw his team score the fewest points in a game for Minnesota's program since a 32-26 loss at Indiana in 1950-51.
The Gophers (7-10, 1-6 Big Ten) shot 21% from the field in the first half to tie the fewest points allowed in a half in Purdue's history.
"It's always tough when you don't see it go in repeatedly," Johnson added. "That's the mental toughness part that has to come into play. You got to find a way to be mature about it and play the next possession — and not let it snowball."
Entering the night, the Gophers were last in the Big Ten in scoring but averaged 64 points. Dawson Garcia and Jamison Battle can score 20 points any given night, but it only went south after they went scoreless in the first half.
Garcia finished with seven points on 3-for-13 shooting. Meanwhile, Battle was limited by a back injury he suffered in Monday's loss to Illinois. He failed to score in a game for the first time in his career, going 0-for-9 in 22 minutes.
Freshman guard Braeden Carrington also missed the game and is out four weeks with a stress reaction in his right leg.
"We're not just relying on Jamison and Dawson to win us games," senior Taurus Samuels said. "They're big pieces to our puzzle, but they're not the only pieces. Everybody's going to have to be all in like we normally are. We have to pick up the slack until J-Mo can get back to being healthy."
Garcia finally got his first basket on a three-point play to open the second half. He followed it up with back-to-back blocks for the best defensive stand of the game. That spark would be short-lived.
The Boilermakers (18-1, 7-1), who are off to the best start in program history, pulled away behind their early defense and outscoring Minnesota 28-4 in points in the paint in the first half. Freshman Braden Smith, who was scoreless in the 89-70 win against the Gophers on Dec. 4, led Purdue with 19 points and seven assists.
The Gophers, who play four freshmen in their rotation, still have nearly half the Big Ten schedule remaining to show growth. But the momentum from their first Big Ten victory against Ohio State last week is gone.
Johnson noticed players also again lacking the energy to stay competitive. After Payne picked up his fourth foul with just under 14 minutes left in the second half, the Gophers were outscored 13-0 and trailed 44-17 following Smith's three-pointer at the 12:55 mark.
There were signs of improvement in narrow losses to Wisconsin and Nebraska, but Thursday's game marked the eighth time this season the Gophers trailed by at least 18 points in the second half, including down by 32 at home vs. Michigan and 25 on Monday vs. Illinois.
"Sometimes it comes down to heart, making plays and execution," said freshman Joshua Ola-Joseph, who finished with a team-high 13 points. "It comes down to who wants to win the most.
