Freshman Pharrel Payne's three dunks early Saturday night against Maryland gave the Gophers arguably their easiest scoring in a long, long time in the first half in Big Ten play.
The league's worst offensive team established a post presence, which was critical with leading scorer and rebounder Dawson Garcia missing his fourth straight game.
Overshadowing anything for the Gophers, though, has been their putrid defensive effort as of late, contributing to a seventh straight loss Saturday, 81-46 against the Terrapins in front of announced crowd of 9,255 at Williams Arena.
"Don't blame our guys," second-year Gophers coach Ben Johnson said about the first time the program suffered consecutive 30-point losses in team history. "If you want to be frustrated, take that out on me. Let me take the brunt. I've got big shoulders. It's part of the job."
The Gophers (7-15, 1-11) are on their longest losing streak in two years. The last time they lost by 30 points twice in a Big Ten season was in 2017-18, but the 35-point margin of defeat Saturday was the second-worst home loss in team history, behind a 90-51 thrashing by No. 1 UCLA with John Wooden and Lew Alcindor in 1968. The Barn opened 95 years ago Wednesday.
"There's a difference between having excuses and having perspective," Johnson said. "The perspective is on most teams young players play, but it's not [30 minutes]. And we're asking these guys, you not only have to play extended minutes, but you need to produce at a Big Ten level."
Young team aside, Johnson preached defense as part of his program's identity when he was hired to replace Richard Pitino in 2021, but the Gophers have reached near rock bottom in that department.
The Terrapins (16-7, 7-5) had a 42-point lead in the second half, but eventually won by 35, which was tied for the Gophers' biggest loss by margin since 2001.
First-year Maryland coach Kevin Willard's team shot 52% Saturday while scoring 40 points in the paint and 23 points off turnovers. The Terps tied their largest margin of victory in the Big Ten since joining the league in 2014.
On Wednesday, Rutgers won by its largest margin in the league since it joined the same year after shooting 60% from the field in a 90-55 game.
In Garcia's absence with a bone bruise, Payne showed glimpses of his potential, including him scoring the Gophers' first eight points in the game and 12 of his team-high 14 in the first half. But Payne was playing with a foot injury as well.
Following back-to-back slams, Payne kept the U within striking distance midway through the first half. The Cottage Grove native had scored in double figures only once in his previous 11 games, but his confidence has grown with an expanded role due to injuries.
"[Johnson] told me to keep my head high," said Payne, who was also out with concussion protocol recently. "If we keep showing up and keep doing it, eventually things will flip for us."
The Terrapins were sent away a couple times on blocks by Payne in the first half, but still used a 21-5 run to help them gain a comfortable 41-21 advantage at halftime on 57% shooting.
In the first half, the Gophers were outscored 13-0 in points off turnovers after giving up the ball nine times. They had 31 turnovers combined in the last two games, which also compounded their problems defensively in Wednesday's loss at Rutgers.
Valuing the ball didn't get much better to start the second half Saturday. Point guard Ta'Lon Cooper had three turnovers in the first four minutes, including stepping out on an inbounds pass underneath Maryland's basket.
On the ensuing Terrapins possession, Jahmir Young blew by Cooper for an emphatic dunk. And a minute later, Don Carey scored a four-point play after being fouled by Jaden Henley on a three-pointer, making it a 57-24 margin.
The Gophers often played three freshmen at the same time Saturday with Payne, Henley, and Joshua Ola-Joseph logging 30-plus minutes. They were down to eight scholarship players with Garcia and freshman Braeden Carrington (leg) sidelined indefinitely. Forwards Parker Fox and Isaiah Ihnen have been out for the season with knee injuries.
Not long ago, the Gophers had a four-point loss vs. Indiana with seven scholarship players, but Johnson said that was different because his team wasn't as drained mentally and physically as it is now.
Injuries and youth have been an excuse for the dreadful play, but the Gophers aren't getting sympathy from opponents. The gantlet continues Tuesday at Illinois, one of several Big Ten teams fighting for a spot behind Purdue in the league race.
"It's about staying even-keeled and trusting what coach is doing is working," said Jamison Battle, who was held to five points on 2-for-9 shooting. "I wouldn't say it's solely about [Garcia] being out."
