5 takeaways from the Gophers' ninth straight loss against Wisconsin

Minnesota gave No. 12 Wisconsin all it could handle on Wednesday night, but the Badgers proved why they're one of the best teams in the Big Ten, pulling away 74-67. There was a lot to take away from the Gophers' final home game of the 2024-25 regular season.

Frank Mitchell's emergence

After suffering a shoulder injury in one of Minnesota's exhibition games, it took a while for Frank Mitchell to look comfortable on a Big Ten floor. He showed flashes with 10 points against Wichita State and Morgan State, but the consistency was lacking.

He has looked like a different player since the Gophers' upset win at USC. He had a season-high 15 points and he has been averaging 7.8 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 64.3% since that game. He once again looked great against Wisconsin with 11 points and 11 rebounds, which was his

Brennan Rigsby

Lu'Cye Patterson, Mike Mitchell Jr. and Femi Odukale have started nearly every game they've played in this season for Minnesota, which has made it hard for Brennan Rigsby to find consistent minutes. After Saturday's career-high 20 points against Nebraska, he made plays again against Wisconsin with a team-high 18 points. After an up-and-down role all season, Rigsby has proven that he deserves to be a mainstay in the Gophers' rotation for the remainder of the season.

Minnesota vs. Wisconsin

Every time that Minnesota has faced Wisconsin in its nine-game losing streak. there has consistently been a theme that has shined through. The Badgers' program is a well-oiled machine, and the Gophers have quite a long way to go to reach the same level. Minnesota looks like a program with 16 players, and Wisconsin looks like a team.

Home woes

This Gophers squad was nowhere near the same team at home as they were on the road this season. They played with nowhere near the same amount of urgency or flow in front of their home crowd. They ended the regular season on a five-game losing streak at Williams Arena, a 2-8 record against Big Ten teams and a 10-9 record overall. If there was a season to revisit the 'tear down the Barn talk,' it would be this one.

Free throws

Whoever is coaching the Gophers next season needs to make sure they're a better free throw shooting team. Wisconsin was 21-24 (87.5%) from the line and Minnesota was 8-15 (53.3%). It was another game on an incredible long list that showed a massive discrepancy.

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