When Minnesota takes the court Saturday against Penn State in Minneapolis, it will try to halt a five-game losing streak, with the latest defeat in that stretch arguably the most frustrating.
The Golden Gophers shot just 39.3 percent while committing 18 turnovers in Wednesday’s 78-65 loss at Nebraska — the Cornhuskers’ first Big Ten victory this season.
“They came out and were 100 percent the aggressor,” Golden Gophers coach Ben Johnson said. “They turned us over and made us play on our heels, which was disappointing. They really controlled the game from start to finish.”
Minnesota (11-10, 2-10 Big Ten) seeks to reverse that trend against Penn State (9-11, 4-8) as the schools prepare to meet twice in six days.
The Nittany Lions have lost two in a row and five of six. In Tuesday’s 58-57 home loss to Michigan, Penn State stumbled to 7-for-29 (24.1 percent) shooting in the second half after hitting 57.7 percent of its shots before the break.
Penn State missed 12 successive shots during one stretch bridging the halves. Sam Sessoms, who scored 13 points Tuesday — one off Jalen Pickett’s team lead — returned to the floor after the final horn to “end the day on a good note” by hoisting some extra shots.
“It felt like I was missing all the layups that I usually make,” Sessoms said. “Afterward, I was so frustrated with myself. I just vividly remember a handful of opportunities where I missed a layup where it was just me and a defender.”
Minnesota looks to build off momentum from Wednesday’s second half, when the Golden Gophers scored 44 points — 23 more than their first-half total. Jamison Battle scored each of his 21 points after intermission and chipped in 10 rebounds to register his third double-double this season.
Payton Willis scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half to stretch his double-digit scoring streak to nine games.
Johnson stressed consistency with focus and ball control as the team tries to regroup.
“You can’t get bumped off the line,” he said. “You can’t be soft with the ball. Those are all the mentality details that go into winning.”
–Field Level Media
