The Gophers men’s basketball team has come down with a case of the Mondays. To start a second straight week, Minnesota lost a Big Ten game there for the taking.
The U led Maryland 46-44 with 13 minutes remaining but let another winnable game slip away in a 77-71 defeat at Xfinity Center in College Park, Md.
Like in the movie “Office Space,” a return to work left the Gophers in a bad mood. On top of squandering a chance to beat Ohio State in double overtime last Monday, Minnesota remains the only team without a Big Ten win.
This Monday, Minnesota (8-9, 0-6 Big Ten) shot well, especially from 3-point range (47%) and the free-throw line (83%), but coughed up 16 turnovers to help doom a 35-32 halftime lead.
“We don’t have enough to withstand those runs that teams go on that flip that momentum,” coach Ben Johnson said on KTLK-AM postgame show. He also mentioned foul trouble that hurt Dawson Garcia, Mike Mitchell and Femi Odukale.
Maryland (12-4, 3-3) was a 15-point favorite and retook the lead with a 19-6 run midway through the second half. The Gophers have not been able to reverse the momentum once it became a game of few possessions in five of its six conference losses.
At the end of that run on Monday, Minnesota was coming out of a timeout, looking to reverse fortunes. But they suffered a five-second violation for failing to inbound the ball for another back-breaking turnover.
Despite foul trouble, Garcia continued to pace Minnesota with 21 points and seven rebounds.
The Terrapins were the 15th-highest scoring team in the nation at 85 points per game, with Terps’ front court combo, Derik Queen and Julian Reese, a big reason why.
Queen was dominant with a career-high 27 points and his ability to take over underscored how Minnesota has not been able to get enough from its transfer bigs — Frank Mitchell and Trey Edmonds. Mitchell played only 12 minutes and Edmonds didn’t play. Parker Fox and Garcia were tasked with the big defensive assignment.
Gophers freshman Isaac Asuma bounced back to being more of a bright spot. After a scoreless game in the 80-58 loss to Wisconsin on Friday, Asuma produced 15 points but also had five turnovers.
The Gophers led 35-32 at the half on the back of its strong shooting, 50% from the field and 56% from 3-point range. It was only the second time Maryland had trailed at the half this season.
But Minnesota’s first-half lead could have been bigger if not for its 11 turnovers, which turned into 11 Maryland points. One possession in particular irked Johnson. A poor pass from Lu’Cyle Patterson let to a Maryland fast break; Patterson didn’t do enough on defense as the Terrapins scored easily. Johnson called a timeout.
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