Gophers men’s basketball coach Ben Johnson wants to shield his players from feelings of anxiety over his uncertain job status.

“That’s something that they don’t need to think about,” Johnson told reporters on Friday. “Any player with any coach, any outside or undo pressure is not fair to them. That’s not their job or their worry or their concern. I just want them to focus on being positive and as energetic and as enthusiastic and as competitive as they can be.”

As an eight-point road underdog at Nebraska on Saturday, the Gophers played loose early and scrapped late on behalf of their teammates and their coach. The U established a 19-point lead five minutes into the second half and, despite tightening up, held on for a 67-65 win at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Neb.

“I don’t know if I’ve been prouder of a group than this team,” Johnson said on the KFAN-FM postgame show. “I mean, to battle the way we did from start to finish, especially after the way last week went — the resiliency. The toughness. These guys have so much in them.”

The Gophers (15-14, 7-11 Big Ten) helped their odds of extending their season to the 15-team Big Ten tournament and snapped a 10-game losing streak at Nebraska that dated back to 2012, including 0-9 since the Cornhuskers’ new arena opened in 2013.

Meanwhile, Nebraska (17-12, 7-11) suffered a huge blow to their on-the-bubble NCAA Tournament chances.

Minnesota also continues to befuddle. After losing to also-rans Penn State and Northwestern at home in the last week, the U improved to 5-4 in Big Ten road games this season.

“We, for whatever reason, feel so confident on the road,” Johnson said on the radio. “I don’t know how to quite explain it.”

Up 64-63 with 18 seconds left, Minnesota had a back-court clock violation for their 14th turnover of the game. Then Juwan Gray’s put-back gave Nebraska a one-point lead with 4 seconds remaining. But Brennan Rigsby’s 3-pointer from the wing, and Huskers’ Andrew Morgan’s off-the-mark heave at the buzzer, sealed the win for Minnesota.

Coming off the bench, Rigsby finished with a career-high 20 points, making 5 of 6 from deep. After one big trey in the second half, he tried to pump up the Huskers’ crowd. After his game-winner, he waved goodbye to them.

“Phenomenal,” Johnson said of Rigsby. “When he had it going, I wasn’t going to get in his way. He really let the emotions of the game, in a good way, feed him. I don’t think it was a taunting thing; I think it was just something that he used to get himself going. He was locking in.”

Rigsby had a combined three points across his previous four appearances but was a surprising spark, akin to when he scored 14 points in the road win at Penn State on Feb. 3. He also got some redemption after a late shot attempt missed in a November loss to Wichita State.

Rigsby’s trey from the left corner gave Minnesota a 62-57 lead with 2:12 remaining. On the preceding defensive play, Dawson Garcia “tweaked” his ankle, according to Johnson. The U’s go-to player didn’t finish the game.

The Gophers led 35-26 at the half despite Garcia being scoreless. Rigsby (11 points), Femi Odukale (eight), Lu’Cye Patterson (seven) and Frank Mitchell (six) carried the scoring load in the opening 20 minutes. Patterson’s 16 total points and Mitchell’s nine rebounds were also huge in the victory.

Minnesota used a 10-0 run to open up its biggest lead, 33-17. Some Cornhuskers fans booed during one timeout, but Nebraska closed the first half on a 6-0 spurt.

Coming into Saturday’s game, Garcia and Nebraska’s Brice Williams were tied for second in the Big Ten at 19.6 points per game, 0.3 behind Northwestern’s Nick Martinelli (19.9) for the conference lead. Garcia got going early in the second half with seven points and finished with nine. Williams ended with 21.

Minnesota’s Senior Night is Wednesday against rival Wisconsin at Williams Arena.