Lu’Cye Patterson slowly walked toward the Gophers’ huddle with 28 seconds left in a one-point game against Nebraska on Saturday. The senior guard didn’t fully rejoin his teammates and coaches and instead took a knee and then sat down on the hardwood floor of Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Big Ten Network commentators speculated the Minneapolis native was dealing with an injury. They were wrong.

“Just some anxiety stuff,” Patterson said Tuesday. “Sometimes you can get overwhelmed with the moments. But nothing I couldn’t handle. Just a lot of pressure situations. Just try to stay calm and composed.

“It probably was a little bit of fatigue, too, I’m not going to lie. I couldn’t even hear myself think in that place. I’m good though.”

Patterson gave a thumbs up to the bench during his respite and returned to the game, then assisted on Brennan Rigsby’s game-winning 3-pointer with 4 seconds left in a 67-65 win in Lincoln, Neb.

The victory last Saturday snapped a 10-game losing streak at Nebraska, including all nine at Pinnacle since 2013. On Wednesday night, the Gophers will try to snap an eight-game overall skid against 12th-ranked Wisconsin (22-7, 12-6) since 2020.

The Senior Night tip at Williams Arena is set for 7:30 p.m.

After putting up 16 points, five rebounds and three assists against Nebraska, Patterson will be one of 10 seniors to be honored before the game along with Dawson Garcia, Mike Mitchell, Parker Fox, Femi Odukale, Trey Edmonds, Caleb Williams and Lincoln Meister.

Rigsby and Tyler Cochran will also participate in the pregame festivities because head coach Ben Johnson said the U has not yet discussed potential options for those two to return next season.

Senior Night against an arch rival will add some extra juice for the Gophers (15-14, 7-11).

“Wisconsin is a box I’ve wanted to check since I came here,” said Fox, a Mahtomedi native who joined Johnson at the U four years ago. “And a box I’ve wanted to check this year especially, just not beating them the first three years and being so close so many times. Some tough battles at the Kohl Center, and then they got us pretty good there this year.”

Wisconsin outscored the Gophers 50-30 in the second half of their 80-59 win in Madison in Jan. 10. The U had a player-led meeting inside the visiting locker room after that defeat and have gone 7-6 since then.

Garcia health

Garcia didn’t play in the final two minutes of the Cornhuskers win because of a “tweaked” ankle, but Johnson expects his leading scorer to play against the Badgers.

“He’s good,” Johnson said. “Obviously hurt his ankle; that is why I took him out. But we’ll see (Tuesday) what it’s looking like. This time of year, I think everyone has got a couple guys that are either practicing limited or not practicing at all.”

Out of the loop, by choice

Johnson said he has not paid any attention to the public discourse about his job status this winter.

“I don’t need to go google it,” he said on his KFXN-FM coach’s show. If the Gophers are losing, Johnson said, he gets the sense of what might be out there.

While Johnson is under contract for two more seasons, he characterized his job security as always to be considered year-to-year.

“Until I make it, I’m always going to be that guy,” he said on the radio. “That is what it is. That is not a good thing or a bad thing.”

One post on social media did reach Johnson. After the win in Nebraska, Seth Davis, the longtime college hoops writer and TV personality, wrote: “Ben Johnson has done an incredible job with this team. One of the elite coaches in one of the toughest jobs in America.”

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