The Gophers men’s basketball team’s stunning three-game winning streak raises one big question: How has Minnesota been able to turn its season around?
The top answer: Dawson Garcia is playing at the level of a Big Ten Player of the Year. On Monday, he was named Big Ten player of the week for averaging Garcia averaged 25.5 points, and six rebounds — while shooting 58.8% from the field — in victories over Oregon and Iowa.
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Suiting up the best player on the court has its perks.
The next factor is a handful of key transfers — primarily Lu’Cye Patterson, Femi Odukale and Frank Mitchell — producing at a higher, more-consistent rate over the past two weeks.
Finally, Minnesota (11-9, 3-6 Big Ten) didn’t fall apart when the going got treacherous.
The Gophers' fifth straight conference loss came with a thud — a second-half collapse in an 80-59 defeat at Wisconsin on Jan. 10. Afterward, the team didn’t leave the Kohl Center’s visiting locker room for more than an hour.
“It was serious reflection,” Garcia said after the Gophers upset No. 15 Oregon 77-69 on Saturday. “Each man looking in a mirror and really just expressing ourselves on how we feel in the locker room.
“Everybody was receptive and everybody was humble enough to be vulnerable. … It was something that our team needed at the time.”
The Gophers’ streak will be put on the line against No. 7 Michigan State (17-2, 8-0 Big Ten) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in East Lansing, Mich. The first-place Spartans have won 12 in a row, while the Gophers' mini run had taken them out of the conference basement — 18th place — and put them 15th, the final spot to qualify for the conference tournament in March.
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Head coach Ben Johnson led a similar closed-door gathering after an 82-67 loss to Indiana on Dec. 9, but the meeting in Madison came at the players’ behest.
“It was all one of the more positive ones I’ve ever been a part of,” Johnson said. “Just to have that open conversation also tells me that there is a lot of respect in that room for these guys. They don’t know each other great (but) they were open and honest with each other.”
Another factor in the Gophers’ U-turn has been how six of their top nine players in the rotation are new to the team and needed time to gel and figure out how to play in the Big Ten.
“I’m sure people thought I was crazy when I said that we were getting better, even though we weren’t getting results,” Johnson said. “And I’m sure people were calling me an idiot, but I knew it because I’m here every day.”
Minnesota was a hungrier team against Oregon at Williams Arena on Saturday. Garcia said they want to pride themselves on their grittiness but acknowledged that was tough to adhere to at times during the slow start.
“It’s still tough to hear and understand, but now you are on a winning streak, we are really buying into that identity,” he said. “Just looking forward to keeping this thing moving.”
After Wisconsin, the Gophers’ conference losing streak reached six straight three days later with a 77-71 setback at Maryland, but the point of no return has been reached.
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The players taking ownership of the team was Johnson’s biggest takeaway from the turning point in Madison. “That was 100% what it was,” he said. “… They have the belief in themselves of being more than capable of winning games.”
In Madison, players pointed out each other’s skill sets and the ways they individually impact winning. They discussed better ways to foster those positives on the court.
“I really didn’t say a lot because I was really sick, but I put in the points that I needed to put in,” said forward Parker Fox about the Madison meeting. “… The last couple of games have proved that, and we are more than good enough as long as we continue to trust one another, trust the coaching staff and trust the game plan. Go out there and play hard.”
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