After leading the Minnesota men’s basketball team to a surprising sixth-place finish in the Big Ten last season — the school’s best since academic scandals ravaged the program in 1999 — coach Dan Monson looked to fare even better in this year’s wide-open conference race.

But Minnesota lost its first two Big Ten games and stands at 9-6 (1-3 Big Ten) heading into Saturday’s clash with Northwestern (8-7, 0-4) at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.

“Our team has been a little negative after two losses, and it’s easy to lose confidence quickly in this league,” Monson said. “We keep telling ourselves that we have to believe in what we’re doing and hang in there. You can talk about it all you want, but until you have some success, it’s hard to do.”

The Golden Gophers’ struggles have been mirrored by the inconsistent play of sophomore forward Rick Rickert. The reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year has seemed like two different players —