Savage, Minn. native Dawson Garcia had quite the journey before joining the Gophers. Despite six-figure offers to hit the transfer portal, he opted to stick things out with Ben Johnson and Minnesota and he finally got his moment on Thursday night.

January, Minnesota basketball (9-9) is likely to miss the NCAA Tournament for a sixth straight season. Following a promising 19-win 2023-24 campaign, the Golden Gophers are stumbling mightily in the expanded Big Ten Conference.

Figuring out how to win in the Big Ten was something that always seemed to escape Ben Johnson’s Minnesota men’s basketball team, especially in the second half. Gophers fans sensed something might be different Thursday night as the game came down to the final minutes against No.