What we Learned From the Gophers' Second-Half Collapse in Loss to No. 7 Nebraska

After carrying a six-point lead into halftime against No. 7 Nebraska, the Gophers were dominated in the second half, which resulted in their fifth-straight loss, 76-57. Here's what we learned.

Minnesota's backcourt struggles

Isaac Asuma's foul trouble cut into his playing time, but Minnesota's starting backcourt struggled to find any offensive production on Saturday morning. Langston Reynolds had only seven points, and Asuma was scoreless. The Gophers received encouraging performances from a handful of other players, and it's hard not to point towards the lack of scoring from Asuma and Reynolds as key reasons why they fell apart in the second half.

Bobby Durkin's streakiness

Durkin had a slow start to his Gophers career, but he seemingly found his groove in December with four out of five games in double figures. He had hit a bit of a slump in January, with one of six games in double figures. He has been a streaky player all season, and that was even clearer on Saturday. He had 12 first-half points, but he added only four in the second half, mostly in cleanup duty.

Second half collapse

The Gophers carried a six-point lead into halftime, and there was plenty of momentum in their favor. That all seemed to vanish in the blink of an eye. Their multitude of injuries and seven-man rotation continue to be a talking point, but it has seemingly become a trend in Minnesota's current five-game losing streak. They were outscored 46-21 in the second half.

Kai Shinholster's important bench minutes

Given the Gophers' seven-man rotation, they're bound to have their starters get in foul trouble often, but it has almost become a guarantee. It was Asuma who picked up two fouls before the first media timeout on Saturday. Reynolds also had two first-half fouls, which prompted Shinholster to play 14 first-half minutes, and he was a big reason why Minnesota carried a six-point lead into the locker room. His 24 minutes for the game matched a career-high, and his eight points set a career-high.

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Jaylen Crocker-Johnson's three-point shooting

Crocker-Johnson came into Saturday's game averaging 22.6 points over his last three games, and he started red-hot. He was held scoreless. It was the fourth time this season that he had made at least four threes in a game, which is something he did only once previously in his whole college career, but he finished 4 of 11 from three-point range on Saturday.