Minnesota head coach Ben Johnson comments on Wisconsin’s win over the Golden Gophers

Wisconsin basketball extended its win streak over rival Minnesota to nine games with a 74-67 road triumph on Wednesday night.

The game displayed the clear difference between the quality of the two teams, and even the two programs. Wisconsin made key winning plays down the stretch. That included big moments from walk-ons Jack Janicki, a Minnesota native, and Carter Gilmore, complementing a game-best 25 points and 11 rebounds from sophomore John Blackwell.

Those three players capture the primary headlines. But when looking for one area where the game turned, Wisconsin made 21 of 24 (87.5%) free throws, compared to Minnesota converting just 8 of its 15 (53.3%) looks. That margin may seem minor during the stretch of play. But Wisconsin’s simple execution from the free-throw line forced Minnesota to play perfect basketball down the stretch. It became the deciding factor in what was a tightly-contested game.

Wisconsin improves to 23-7 on the season and 13-6 in Big Ten play with the result, maintaining control of a top-four seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament. Minnesota, meanwhile, drops to 15-15 with the result. While that mark is a step forward from where the program has been, the gap between it and the Badgers remains evident.

Golden Gophers coach Ben Johnson discussed Wisconsin’s top-end quality, how free-throw shooting decided the game and much more when meeting with the media postgame. Here is everything he said about Wisconsin’s win:

On where the game was decided

“Yeah, the offensive rebounding, extending the possession. I know we got beat on a couple back cuts. Which obviously you can’t do. I thought we had a couple quick shots late. We were trying to kind of get over that hump. Which is tough, because I told the guys I thought that there was a lot of good. There were a lot of positives. We just, for whatever reason, we had a handful of plays where we just couldn’t get out of our own way. That’s the part that’s tough. I thought they competed. I thought in the second half, they really showed some fight. It’s hard when a couple of those 50-50s, again, a back cut here or there, or a missed first shot rebound to end a possession.

We don’t get those against a really good team, and they make you pay. [Wisconsin] did a good job of driving it, and they lived at the line. Obviously, we knew they were really, really good at free throw shooting. We have to do a better job at making ours.”

He thought his Gophers were ready to beat Wisconsin

“I thought today, we showed that we were ready to win the game. Maybe it was 53-53, we ended up tying it. And we just have to have one play. I’ve got to look at the film. But it just seemed like it was a self-induced couple-minute stretch there to not be able to withstand that. We’ve got to really figure that out. Hopefully we’re going to be in some meaningful games. Obviously Sunday is one of them. But from here on out, figuring out, this time of year, just those one or two-minute lapses, or just a play here or a play there. Especially when you’re playing well. Good teams don’t do that, and I think we are a good team. We’ve really got to shore that up.”

On Minnesota’s home crowd

“It was obviously awesome. To have a sellout, I think it was, or really close to. I do think it was because we’ve played well. When you play well, obviously it is a rivalry game, people are going to come out and support guys that give a chance and an effort to put yourself in position to win. It’s good for our guys to play in that environment. It’s unfortunate that we weren’t able to flip it into a win for everybody that came out. I thought it was a really, really good crowd. I thought the students were awesome, that looked sold out. The other next piece is when you get it like that, you want to be able to capitalize in all areas. It wasn’t for a lack of effort. I thought the will was there, it was just a couple of miscues against a top-12, top-15 team, that you can’t do.”

On Wisconsin’s offensive discipline, free-throw shooting

“[One decisive area] is that Wisconsin converts at the line. 21 of 24. What was it, a seven-point game? In a seven-point game, that’s huge. And we go 8 of 15. I don’t know how many of those were front ends [of a one-and-one]. But, if you make a couple more of those, now it’s a one possession game potentially. That’s a big difference. Especially against a top-12, top-15 team. You can’t come away empty handed. So, they do that. They have the toughness to go to the line. I think for the most part, the offensive discipline that [Wisconsin] has from guys that can score it, to play within their offense, and to not take uncharacteristic shots. The shots that they take are pretty high-quality, rhythm type of shots. It keeps guys in the flow, it keeps guys in a rhythm, it keeps their offense in a rhythm. They can score early, but they can also work the ball and get something to score late in the clock. I just think the offensive discipline is pretty impressive.

We tried to turn them over, we got them to 11 [turnovers], which is right around their average, nine or 10. But that’s the other thing, they just don’t turn it over. They take care of the ball. Those are the traits, especially on the road, that lead to a lot of wins.