Gophers men’s basketball hosts No. 20 Purdue Thursday night at Williams Arena looking for a marquee victory and their first Big Ten win.

KSTP Sports spoke with head coach Ben Johnson, forward Femi Odukale, and forward Dawson Garcia on Tuesday.

***Click the video box above to watch Johnson, Odukale, and Garcia preview game vs. Purdue***

Minnesota will enter the new year 8-5, having won the final two games of 2024 (Fairleigh Dickinson & Morgan State). But, the Gophers dropped their first two conference games of the season to Indiana and Michigan State.

Johnson said transfer guard Tyler Cochran has yet to participate in five-on-five drills at practice and is still week-to-week in his recovery.

In early October, Johnson had an optimistic view on the transfer guard’s return.

“He’s probably looking at a December return,” Johnson said.

Gophers guard Mike Mitchell Jr. shined in the 90-68 win over Morgan State, knocking down six three-pointers on his way to 22 points and 5 rebounds.

Minnesota also received a lift from Dawson Garcia around the arc, hitting four triples for the first time since the season opener against Oral Roberts.

The Gophers are yet to defeat an AP top-25 opponent under Johnson. Their last such victory coming against the Boilermakers on Feb. 11, 2021, a 71-68 win at Williams Arena. That was Richard Pitino’s last year in charge.