Ben Johnson wants to remind doubters of his scuffling Gophers men’s basketball team that No. 2 scoring option and starting point guard Mike Mitchell Jr. missed seven games earlier this season with a high ankle sprain. And Minnesota lost three of them. Plus, Mitchell was still not 100 percent in his first two games back, both December losses to Michigan State and Indiana. If the Gophers had Mitchell, and possibly injured guard Tyler Cochran, maybe Minnesota (8-5, 0-2 Big Ten) would have a better record right now. “Get that word out there more, please,” Johnson said to reporters from Athletes Village on Tuesday. Now fully healthy, Mitchell showed how lethal he can be on Sunday when he made six 3-pointers and finished with 22 points in a 90-68 win over Morgan State at Williams Arena. The Gophers will need their one-two punch of all-Big Ten forward Dawson Garcia and Mitchell — and likely even more — to beat No. 20 Purdue (9-4, 1-1) in the restart of conference play at 7 p.m. Thursday at The Barn. “Purdue is coming in here on Thursday, and that’s a different beast,” veteran big man Parker Fox said after the walkaway blowout of lowly Morgan State. Every team in the country has to deal with injuries, so Johnson’s plight isn’t unique. But that context for the U is important on what has been a difficult early portion of the 2024-25 season. The Gophers were picked to finish last in the conference this season, while the Boilermakers were projected to win the league. Meanwhile, the Hoosiers and Spartans were both predicted to finish in the top five in the league. “I think having those two tough games early does build a little bit of confidence, because it’s not like you’ve got to amp guys up for the upper half of our league,” Johnson said Sunday. “They’ve seen that already with those two really good teams. So now we play Purdue, especially for these new guys — they know what to expect. They know what the intensity should be like, because they played two top-half Big Ten teams already.” For the Gophers to get out of their 0-2 Big Ten hole that has put them in the conference basement, they will need Mitchell and a third scoring option to step up. Johnson keeps expressing confidence Charlotte transfer Lu’Cye Patterson will be able to bust out of his slump, because he sees it in practice. The Minneapolis native is averaging 9.7 points per game, third-best on the team, but is shooting 32 percent overall and 21 percent from 3-point range. A return for Cochran, however, does not appear to be imminent. After being sidelined for foot surgery since preseason, Cochran has been working out at the U, but has not yet participated in any contact or five-on-five drills in practice, Johnson said Tuesday. When Cochran was initially injured in early October, he was slated to return in December. But Johnson said his current prognosis remains week to week. Briefly With only one game played from Dec. 21 to Thursday, Johnson said he was able to visit recruits in the 2025 class. Minnesota has signed 6-foot-10 forward Parker Jefferson, who is playing at Inglewood (Calif.) High School; 6-6 guard Jacob Ross at Long Island (N.Y.) Lutheran, and 6-5 guard Kai Shinholster at William Pen Charter School in Philadelphia. Related Articles College Sports | Gophers’ blowout of Morgan State underscores U’s weak nonconference slate College Sports | After ugly first half, Gophers pull away for a 74-60 win over Fairleigh Dickinson College Sports | Gophers football continues to restock offensive lineman for 2025 College Sports | Clock is ticking for Gophers men’s basketball to get season turned around College Sports | Would another long, cold winter of Gophers men’s basketball bring change?