The Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball program has a chance for an early season resume-boosting win over a quality North Texas program on Wednesday night.
However, if the Gophers are going to find themselves coming out on top they will have to do it shorthanded and potentially significantly shorthanded.
During his Tuesday media availability, Gophers head coach Ben Johnson was asked about his program's health heading into Wednesday's game.
"We're a little banged up. So Mike (Mitchell Jr) is going to be out. Frank (Mitchell), maybe, probably a game-time decision. He hasn't done much of anything. Dawson (Garcia)'s got a groin. Caleb (Williams)'s got mono and KB (Kadyn Betts) was out yesterday with a heel so we'll see," Johnson said.
To recap;
The Gophers will be at the very least without guards Mike Mithcell Jr and Caleb Williams while forwards Frank Mitchell, Dawson Garcia, and Kadyn Betts all appear to be questionable for the matchup against the Mean Green.
Mitchell's absence from the lineup is a significant one as he's averaged 27.5 minutes over the first two games of the season. While he was off to a slower start in terms of his shooting, Mitchell Jr was doing a tremendous job early this season in distributing the ball with 12 assists in the Gophers' first two games. The California native is expected to miss a few weeks.
"The good thing is there was no break. There was nothing significant, it's just a really bad ankle sprain," Ben Johnson said about Mitchell's ankle injury that he suffered on Saturday against Omaha. "Sometimes you could say it could be four weeks and it could really be two. It just depends on kind of what type of healer he is," he added.
"We know obviously won't have him for this week and probably next week. But then after that, I think it's kind of just where he's at and where the ankle is at."
Mitchell's minutes in the Gophers lineup will be replaced by true freshman Isaac Asuma and New Mexico State guard Femi Odukale.
Dawson Garcia being potentially questionable would be a major hit to the Gophers on both ends of the court. One of the Big Ten's elite players, Gracia is averaging 27 points and 7.5 rebounds per game through the first two games of the season.
Notably Frank Mitchell nor Caleb Williams have played yet this season. Mitchell suffered a dislocated shoulder during the Gophers' exhibition matchup against Hamline two weeks ago and is considered to be week-to-week at this juncture. Once healthy, Mitchell is expected to have a notable role within the Gophers rotation.
Finally, Kadyn Betts has played in both games for the Gophers this season, averaging 7.5 minutes per contest. He is 2-for-4 from the floor early this season and has also nabbed a pair of rebounds.
While the Gophers may be shorthanded, Ben Johnson likes how his team has responded to a close 68-64 win for Omaha on Saturday.
"But I know this, the guys that were able to go yesterday are locked in and I think they learned a valuable lesson from last game," Johnson said.
"You know, we respect everybody but I think they went in there, thinking it was going to be a certain way and you know Omaha is a good team and they came in here thinking they're going to win and all of sudden you give people confidence early and you don't respect the game like you should. It becomes tight and so I think they learned a really valuable lesson."
The Gophers and Mean Green will tip off at 7:00 p.m. CT at WIlliams Arena.
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