MINNEAPOLIS — Ben Johnson's Gophers went from playing their worst defense of the season to arguably their best effort a couple days later Sunday night against No. 23 Mississippi State.
They forced the Bulldogs to shoot 1-for-10 from the field to open the game, but then came one of those lengthy scoring droughts that contributed to the U's recent losing streak.
The Gophers went scoreless for nearly six minutes before briefly taking the lead by doing things that create quality offensive opportunities: Ball movement. Taking good shots. Getting the ball into the paint.
That didn't last long. And the scoring woes continued for the Gophers, who suffered their fifth straight loss Sunday, 69-51 at Williams Arena.
Dawson Garcia's offensive resurgence wasn't enough to end the slide this season for the Gophers (4-6), who shot just 29% from the field.
The last five-game losing streak before January for the Gophers happened during the 9-22 season in 2006-07, which was the end of the Dan Monson era.
Johnson, who played for Monson, is going through only his second year leading Minnesota's program. The patience might be running thin from some fans watching the lack of improvement this year, especially offensively.
Entering Sunday, the Gophers were ranked last in the Big Ten in scoring (64.4), last in turnover margin (minus-2.44), last in free throw shooting (55.9%) and 13th in three-pointers per game (6.6).
Their myriad of issues regardless of the opponent got even more difficult to fix against the No. 1 defense in the Southeastern Conference. The Bulldogs (9-0), who were No. 2 nationally allowing just 49.6 points, used a 10-0 run in the first half to take control and avenge last season's loss in Starkville.
A year ago, the Gophers had no problems scoring against the Bulldogs in an 81-76 upset behind an impressive offensive performance with 79 points from their starters, including returning scoring leader Jamison Battle.
It wasn't Battle's night in the rematch. The All-Big Ten preseason forward was held to just five points and went 1-for-8 from the field. Frustration came quickly in the second half when Battle picked up his fourth foul with two calls in the first 22 seconds.
Another potential disaster was when starting point guard Ta'Lon Cooper came down awkwardly on his right foot and left the game early in the second half. Mississippi State then extended the margin to 52-34 with 12:16 to play.
In losses against UNLV, Virginia Tech, Purdue and Michigan, the Gophers had to fall behind by a large margin to play their best basketball offensively. They outscored their opponent three times in the last four games in the second half.
On Sunday, Garcia's tough layup plus the foul led to a three-point play to spark a 9-0 run. Joshua Ola-Joseph's four straight points cut it to 52-43 with nine minutes remaining.
The Bulldogs, who scored 34 points in the paint, ruined any Gophers comeback hopes with Tolu Smith and Shakeel Moore combining for 22 of their 37 points in the second half, including Moore's three-pointer to make it 64-48.
Battle drilled his first field goal of the game in response with a three-pointer at the 2:50 mark, but the scoring other than Garcia just didn't show up Sunday. Fittingly, the game ended with a near three-minute scoring drought.
After playing the most grueling stretch of the early season, the Gophers will try to get their offensive confidence back as the schedule eases up with a three-game home stretch against non-power conference foes, starting Wednesday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
