The Gophers men’s basketball team has not lost a game when leading at halftime this season.

The problem is Minnesota has trailed at the break in all eight Big Ten Conference games so far this season, including its four straight defeats.

Faster starts have been a point of emphasis for head coach Ben Johnson for his Gophers (12-7, 3-5 Big Ten) going into a 5:30 p.m. Saturday game against Penn State (9-10, 3-5) at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa.

Johnson has observed a tightness and tentativeness in players earlier in games and wants them to find a calmness and confidence. On Friday, the Gophers had a scrimmage focused on the first 20 minutes of the game.

“This is to get our mentality flipped,” the coach said.

Johnson pointed out recent games were the first time the U’s three-man backcourt of Elijah Hawkins, Mike Mitchell Jr. and Cam Christie have played in rivalry games against Iowa and Wisconsin.

“You can talk about it, but until you have gone through it and have the guys starting right now, it’s their first go-round, when you are playing these teams,” Johnson said. “It takes a minute to realize the physicality or the rhythm or where you’re getting shots.”

Minnesota is 9-1 in nonconference games when leading at the half and 0-1 after they fell behind to San Francisco in November.

Mood builder?

The Gophers’ rollercoaster season has included a seven-game winning streak followed by this current four-game lull.

“We talked about and showed (the players) how close we truly are, and it’s scary,” Johnson said. “That is the part that stings.”

Johnson pointed how the U limited Wisconsin’s leading scorers in the 61-59 loss to the Badgers on Tuesday.

“There is so much good that they should feel good about,” Johnson said. “And should feel positive about. The result? No. But we’ve got to be process-driven.”

Payne’s pain

Center Pharrel Payne’s back injury does not require surgery, but it has been aggravating him. He was laboring on the court Tuesday, but still contributed nine points and seven rebounds against the Badgers.

“When it’s in a spot where it is now, rest is going to be the biggest cure, but how do you get rest during the season?” Johnson asked.

Johnson has been trying to carve out down time for Payne during practices and by playing him fewer minutes in games.

“You know it’s a factor, but he’s done a good job of playing through discomfort,” Johnson said. “He tells me when he can go and when he can’t go. We’ll go from there. He won’t probably be able to fully be good until the end of the season.”

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