Following their 8-point loss Thursday at No. 2 Purdue, Boilermakers coach Matt Painter spoke highly of the Gophers.

“They’re going in the right direction,” Painter said. “They should feel good about where they are.”

The Gophers are now 6-7 in Big Ten games, tied for 7th-place with Rutgers and Indiana. Rutgers comes to the Barn for a game on Sunday at 5:30 p.m.

One benefit the Gophers have the rest of the way is four home games. Rutgers and Nebraska, for example, have just three remaining. But that also means the Gophers have to hold serve at home.

That was one topic that came up on Friday when KSTP Sports spoke with head coach Ben Johnson.

***Click the video box above to watch Johnson’s session on Feb. 16 with reporters***

The Gophers are now 2-5 on the road in conference games after losing comfortable halftime leads in the last week at Iowa and Purdue.

Despite a roster with only three seniors, Johnson’s resurgent squad has improved dramatically from 9-22 last season. But the Gophers lack a signature road win in conference play.

Dawson Garcia led the Gophers with 24 points at Purdue, including three 3s. Mike Mitchell Jr. scored 14 with four 3-pointers. Cam Christie finished with 13 points, the freshman’s fourth consecutive double-digit game. He also hit three 3s.

The Associated Press contributed to this report