When Ben Johnson hits the recruiting trail after his first season as a head coach, he'll want to show prospects an example of what his Gophers men's basketball program looks like.
At times this season, the Gophers have showed teamwork, toughness, shooting prowess and a never-give-up mentality. But lately, there have been more blowouts than nail-biters, more ugly losses than any impressive comebacks.
A deep run in the Big Ten tournament this week in Indianapolis is not realistic for the last- place team in the conference.
But the Gophers know they can play better than they did in the last month of the regular season, which included a 21-point loss to Wednesday's opening round opponent, Penn State.
"That wasn't who we are," Johnson said on the embarrassing defeat vs. the Nittany Lions on Feb. 17.
Aside from just extending their season Wednesday night, the Gophers (13-16, 4-16 Big Ten) want to leave a good lasting impression on Johnson's first season by playing the way they're capable in the Big Ten tournament.
"We have something to sell," Johnson said. "Before it was hard because I didn't have a body of work. I couldn't pull up video and say this is how we're going to play. Now you have that to sell."
The Gophers suffered 15 losses in their past 18 games in conference play, but Johnson still can show recruits about moments when they can overcame adversity and played together.
They were much more competitive in January, including in near-upsets against Michigan State and co-Big Ten champion Wisconsin on the road. There was also the 68-65 home win Jan. 22 against Rutgers, down three starters including leading scorer Jamison Battle, who was out with an illness.
"Just a selfless team," said senior guard Payton Willis, who had 32 points and eight three-pointers against Rutgers. "High IQ team and people who are about the right things. [We're] about winning at the end of the day and just good overall people."
Johnson will need another point guard who makes an immediate impact next season — and likely from the transfer portal. So Willis ending his college career strong this week can only help the Gophers find his replacement.
"He's one of the best point guards I've played with," said Battle, who was named All-Big Ten honorable mention Tuesday with Wills. "He's helped us a lot and he's taken us to another level. Like Coach Johnson says, these guys are the foundation. Having a point guard like [Willis] is the foundation you want."
In the Big Ten tourney, Battle also has one last chance to show future Gophers they'll be playing with one of the best players in the league next year. The 6-7 sophomore averaged 17 points and 6.3 rebounds in the Big Ten, becoming the first player to lead the Gophers in both categories in his first season since Trevor Mbakwe in 2010-11.
Battle, who had a career-high 39 points in last week's loss at Maryland, was one of the reasons the Gophers were a much-improved shooting team this season. They improved from a program-worst 27.9% shooting in conference play in 2020-21 to 36.7% this season, which tied for third in the Big Ten.
"You're able to see our brand and what we want it to look like," Johnson said. "Even when you don't win, I think the feedback I've gotten is they can at least see what we're trying to do. That, to me, is huge because now as a player — as a family, as a recruit — you understand stylistically what they're trying to accomplish this year."
A 10-1 record to open Johnson's first season was built primarily in nonconference play. Only two of the first 11 games were against Big Ten opponents. The Dec. 11 win at Michigan was also the last time they won away from home in nine tries, including Sunday's 75-62 loss at Northwestern.
Seven of Minnesota's last nine losses in the regular season were by double digits, but the Gophers can remind whoever is watching Wednesday they've been a much better team than people expected in Johnson's first season.
"We can compete with anyone in the conference," Willis said. "It just comes down to us playing a full 40 minutes. We're going to go out there and expect to win."
