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2025-26 Gopher Men's Basketball Year Review
4/15/2026 12:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
YEAR REVIEW
• A new era began at the University of Minnesota men's basketball program when Niko Medved was hired on March 24, 2025, to lead his alma mater. Starting his career as a Gopher student manager under Clem Haskins, the Roseville, Minn., native returned to Minnesota after a seven-year stint at Colorado State. Due to the coaching change, Minnesota returned two and added 13 athletes to the roster in the 2025-26 season.
• Minnesota completed the 2025-26 season with a 15-18 overall record and 8-12 in Big Ten play. Minnesota finished 11th in the league standings in Niko Medved's first year at the helm of the Golden Gopher men's basketball. The Gophers went 13-4 at Williams Arena this past season, including six Big Ten wins at home.
• Minnesota was one of eight teams selected for the postseason's College Basketball Crown (CBC), April 1-5 in Las Vegas. Minnesota faced Baylor on April 1 and fell 67-48, ending its season. Cade Tyson ended his Gopher career with 19 points, while Langston Reynolds also completed his collegiate career with 13
• The Big Ten sent nine teams to the NCAA Tournament and two to the CBC. During the regular season, Minnesota defeated ranked teams Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State and also defeated NCAA-tourney-bound UCLA. Michigan went on to earn the Big Ten's first NCAA title since 1999 in a 69-63 win over UConn.
• Minnesota went through three different lineups during the course of the season due to injury. The Gophers' most consistent lineup contained Langston Reynolds, Isaac Asuma, Bobby Durkin, Cade Tyson and Jaylen Crocker-Johnson as the Gophers went 6-8 in that span. However, a foot injury sidelined Crocker-Johnson at the end of the season as Grayson Grove took over the starting center spot. Minnesota went 4-5 during that time.
• Due to injuries this season, Minnesota has shortened its bench to six players since mid-February. In that span, however, the Gophers went 4-5, with a road win at Oregon, split with Rutgers, and won over the UCLA Bruins and Northwestern to end the regular season on senior day. Of the five losses, three came on the road at Washington, then-No. 3 Michigan and Indiana, while the last two came in the Big Ten Tournament (Rutgers) and at the CBC (Baylor). Isaac Asuma was the only Gopher to start in all 33 games, while he, Langston Reynolds and Bobby Durkin were the only individuals to play in all games this past season.
• Minnesota honored its senior class in the regular season finale vs. Northwestern. Cade Tyson, Langston Reynolds, Maximus Gizzi and RJ Spencer were honored with their families. Tyson finished his career playing in 124 games and 1,621 points, while Langston Reynolds played in 125 collegiate games and scored 1,171 points. Maximus Gizzi joined the Gophers in June after competing for four years at the NAIA level. He played in 10 Division I games and scored a basket vs. Baylor to end his collegiate career. RJ Spencer, a former student manager for the Gophers, joined the team in September. He went on to play in five collegiate games.
FROM BEYOND THE ARC
• The 2025-26 Golden Gopher squad earned a school record of 278 three-pointers this past season, breaking the previous record of 272 set in the 2013-14 season. Bobby Durkin paved the way with 80, followed by Cade Tyson with 71, Isaac Asuma with 58 and Jaylen Crocker-Johnson with 42.
NEW ERA BEGINS WITH COACH MEDVED
• Niko Medved was named the University of Minnesota men's basketball coach on March 24, 2025. He completed his 13th year as head coach and holds a career record of 237-190 (.555). Medved most recently was at Colorado State University, where he helped the Rams advance to the NCAA Tournament three of the past four seasons. Medved, a Roseville, Minn., native, earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree from Minnesota.
• Medved was an assistant coach at Furman, Colorado State and Minnesota before being named the head coach at these three institutions. He is the only known coach to have served as an assistant at three institutions before becoming the head coach at the same institution.
• Medved's first career win against a Division I opponent came against Gardner-Webb, the same opponent he recorded his first win as the Golden Gopher coach on Nov. 3.
TYSON NAMED ALL-B1G HONORABLE MENTION
NABC ALL-DISTRICT
• Cade Tyson was named an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention by both the coaches and media. A week later, he also garnered NABC Second Team All-District. Tyson led the Golden Gophers in points (628), points per game (19.6), field goals (191), free throws (175) and attempts (213) this past season. His 19.6 points per game ranked sixth in the Big Ten in overall scoring, while his 628 points finished ninth in the league. Tyson's 628 points this past season ranked third in school history for points in a season. His 628 points in a single season crush his previous season best of 503 when he was at Belmont in the 2023-24 season. In his senior year, Tyson has produced two 30-point games, 15 20-point games and has scored double-figure points in each of his 32 games played. He also tied a school record for three-pointers in a game when he had eight earlier this year against Texas Southern.
ACADEMIC HONORS
• Isaac Asuma, Grayson Grove and RJ Spencer were all named Academic All-Big Ten selections. To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, students are enrolled full-time at the institution for a minimum of 12 months and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
• In addition, Grove and Cade Tyson were named Academic All-District by College Sports Communicators (CSC). Both sports management majors, it marks the first honor for each. To achieve this honor, both had a GPA above 3.5 and were starters or key contributors to the team.
SETTING IT UP
• On assist percentage for the season, the Gophers led the entire nation at 71.0 percent, including 24 assists on 29 makes vs. UCLA. The second-highest in the nation is Cornell at 68.7 percent, followed by Michigan State (67.6).
• Langston Reynolds and Isaac Asuma combined for 273 of Minnesota's 562 assists. Overall, the Gophers' starting five (that finished the season) also has assists from Cade Tyson (68), Bobby Durkin (61), and Grayson Grove (53). Crocker-Johnson also added 43, while Kai Shinholster had 32.
SHARING THE LOVE
• In the Northwestern win (3/7/26), it marked the 16th time this season in which four or more Gophers scored double-digit points in a game. Minnesota is 11-5 when four or more Gophers score in double digits.
WINS OVER RANKED OPPONENTS
• Minnesota had three wins over ranked opponents this past year. The first game in the game against Indiana (Dec. 3), when the Gophers topped then-No. 22 Hoosiers, 73-64. The Gophers added another win over a ranked opponent against then-No. 19 Iowa, 70-67, on Jan. 6. The Gophers knocked off their highest-ranked win on Feb. 4 when they defeated then-No. 10 Michigan State, 76-73. The win over the Spartans was Minnesota's first win over a top-10 team since the 2020-21 season when it defeated then-No. 7 Michigan. The last time Minnesota defeated three-ranked opponents was also in the 2020-21 season.
WILLIS, VAIHOLA, OMOT, OUT FOR SEASON
• Head coach Niko Medved announced that point guard Chansey Willis Jr., Rob Vaihola and BJ Omot missed the remainder of the season due injuries. Willis Jr., who started in the first eight games for the Gophers, suffered a foot injury that required surgery.
• Prior to the Northwestern game (1.3), Vailhola had surgery on his right knee.
• BJ Omot came to Minnesota after transferring from California and North Dakota, but suffered a leg injury that continued from summer camp into the season and was listed out for the year.
WHERE THEY RANKED
• Cade Tyson ranked sixth in the Big Ten in scoring (19.6 ppg) and ninth in overall points (628). Tyson also ranked third in free throws (175) and fourth in attempts (213), eighth in field goals percentage (.500) and second in minutes per game (36.4).
• Langston Reynolds averages 4.6 assists per game, which ranked seventh in the B1G, while his 150 was ninth in the league. Bobby Durkin ranked eighth in the conference in three-pointers per game (2.42) and ninth in three-pointers made (80).
• As a team, the Gophers held the fourth-best scoring defense in the league (68.5). They also ranked sixth in steals per game (6.3), ninth in turnovers forced per game (10.7), eighth in assist/turnover ratio (1.62) and sixth in assists per game (17.0).
CAREER MILESTONES
• Minnesota's Cade Tyson earned his 1,000th career point on Nov. 3, vs. Gardner-Webb. It took him just minutes to reach his milestone in his Minnesota debut. The senior from Monroe, N.C., scored 912 points at Belmont, 81 at North Carolina, and 628 at Minnesota for 1,621 career points.
• Langston Reynolds scored seven points in the Nebraska game, surpassing the 1,000th career point, and finished his career at 1,171. Reynolds scored 789 points with Northern Colorado and 382 with the Gophers this past season.
• Bobby Durkin established his 1,000th career point vs. UCLA. He had 717 in his two years at Davidson and scored 337 this past season with the Gophers for 1054 points.
IN THE RECORDBOOKS
• Cade Tyson, Bobby Durkin and Langston Reynolds made their mark in the Minnesota season history records this past season. Cade Tyson ranked third in school history in points in a season (628), while his 19.6 points per game ranked fifth among Gophers players since 1978-79. His 175 free throws are third all-time in a season. Bobby Durkin's 80 threes currently rank fourth in school history, while his 204 attempts are ranked fourth. Reynolds' 150 assists are the 10th-most in a single season.
BACK WITH THE THE GOPHERS
• Minnesota had two players remain with the team from the 2024-25 team in Isaac Asuma and Grayson Grove. Asuma saw significant time as a freshman last year, averaging 24.7 minutes and 5.6 points. Grove redshirted the 2024-25 season.
JCJ FOLLOWS MEDVED TO MINNESOTA
• Jaylen Crocker-Johnson followed head coach Niko Medved from Colorado State following the 2024-25 season to Minnesota this past year. Playing in all 36 games for the Rams, he helped CSU to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. Crocker-Johnson averaged nine points and 4.4 rebounds in 21.5 minutes played last season. Before his CSU tenure, Crocker-Johnson played at Arkansas Little Rock, where he started in 33 of 34 games as a freshman.
FRESHMEN FOR 2026-27 SEASON
• Head coach Niko Medved has announced the additions of Nolen Anderson (Plymouth, Minn.), Chadrack Mpoyi (Likasi, Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Cedric Tomes (Woodbury, Minn.) to the 2026-27 roster. Anderson, a 6-foot, 8-inch forward, plays at Wayzata High School and DI Minnesota. Mpoyi, a 6-foot, 11-inch center from Likasi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, plays in California with Crean Lutheran. Tomes, a 6-foot, 1-inch guard, plays with East Ridge High School and D1 Minnesota.
• A new era began at the University of Minnesota men's basketball program when Niko Medved was hired on March 24, 2025, to lead his alma mater. Starting his career as a Gopher student manager under Clem Haskins, the Roseville, Minn., native returned to Minnesota after a seven-year stint at Colorado State. Due to the coaching change, Minnesota returned two and added 13 athletes to the roster in the 2025-26 season.
• Minnesota completed the 2025-26 season with a 15-18 overall record and 8-12 in Big Ten play. Minnesota finished 11th in the league standings in Niko Medved's first year at the helm of the Golden Gopher men's basketball. The Gophers went 13-4 at Williams Arena this past season, including six Big Ten wins at home.
• Minnesota was one of eight teams selected for the postseason's College Basketball Crown (CBC), April 1-5 in Las Vegas. Minnesota faced Baylor on April 1 and fell 67-48, ending its season. Cade Tyson ended his Gopher career with 19 points, while Langston Reynolds also completed his collegiate career with 13
• The Big Ten sent nine teams to the NCAA Tournament and two to the CBC. During the regular season, Minnesota defeated ranked teams Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State and also defeated NCAA-tourney-bound UCLA. Michigan went on to earn the Big Ten's first NCAA title since 1999 in a 69-63 win over UConn.
• Minnesota went through three different lineups during the course of the season due to injury. The Gophers' most consistent lineup contained Langston Reynolds, Isaac Asuma, Bobby Durkin, Cade Tyson and Jaylen Crocker-Johnson as the Gophers went 6-8 in that span. However, a foot injury sidelined Crocker-Johnson at the end of the season as Grayson Grove took over the starting center spot. Minnesota went 4-5 during that time.
• Due to injuries this season, Minnesota has shortened its bench to six players since mid-February. In that span, however, the Gophers went 4-5, with a road win at Oregon, split with Rutgers, and won over the UCLA Bruins and Northwestern to end the regular season on senior day. Of the five losses, three came on the road at Washington, then-No. 3 Michigan and Indiana, while the last two came in the Big Ten Tournament (Rutgers) and at the CBC (Baylor). Isaac Asuma was the only Gopher to start in all 33 games, while he, Langston Reynolds and Bobby Durkin were the only individuals to play in all games this past season.
• Minnesota honored its senior class in the regular season finale vs. Northwestern. Cade Tyson, Langston Reynolds, Maximus Gizzi and RJ Spencer were honored with their families. Tyson finished his career playing in 124 games and 1,621 points, while Langston Reynolds played in 125 collegiate games and scored 1,171 points. Maximus Gizzi joined the Gophers in June after competing for four years at the NAIA level. He played in 10 Division I games and scored a basket vs. Baylor to end his collegiate career. RJ Spencer, a former student manager for the Gophers, joined the team in September. He went on to play in five collegiate games.
FROM BEYOND THE ARC
• The 2025-26 Golden Gopher squad earned a school record of 278 three-pointers this past season, breaking the previous record of 272 set in the 2013-14 season. Bobby Durkin paved the way with 80, followed by Cade Tyson with 71, Isaac Asuma with 58 and Jaylen Crocker-Johnson with 42.
NEW ERA BEGINS WITH COACH MEDVED
• Niko Medved was named the University of Minnesota men's basketball coach on March 24, 2025. He completed his 13th year as head coach and holds a career record of 237-190 (.555). Medved most recently was at Colorado State University, where he helped the Rams advance to the NCAA Tournament three of the past four seasons. Medved, a Roseville, Minn., native, earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree from Minnesota.
• Medved was an assistant coach at Furman, Colorado State and Minnesota before being named the head coach at these three institutions. He is the only known coach to have served as an assistant at three institutions before becoming the head coach at the same institution.
• Medved's first career win against a Division I opponent came against Gardner-Webb, the same opponent he recorded his first win as the Golden Gopher coach on Nov. 3.
TYSON NAMED ALL-B1G HONORABLE MENTION
NABC ALL-DISTRICT
• Cade Tyson was named an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention by both the coaches and media. A week later, he also garnered NABC Second Team All-District. Tyson led the Golden Gophers in points (628), points per game (19.6), field goals (191), free throws (175) and attempts (213) this past season. His 19.6 points per game ranked sixth in the Big Ten in overall scoring, while his 628 points finished ninth in the league. Tyson's 628 points this past season ranked third in school history for points in a season. His 628 points in a single season crush his previous season best of 503 when he was at Belmont in the 2023-24 season. In his senior year, Tyson has produced two 30-point games, 15 20-point games and has scored double-figure points in each of his 32 games played. He also tied a school record for three-pointers in a game when he had eight earlier this year against Texas Southern.
ACADEMIC HONORS
• Isaac Asuma, Grayson Grove and RJ Spencer were all named Academic All-Big Ten selections. To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, students are enrolled full-time at the institution for a minimum of 12 months and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
• In addition, Grove and Cade Tyson were named Academic All-District by College Sports Communicators (CSC). Both sports management majors, it marks the first honor for each. To achieve this honor, both had a GPA above 3.5 and were starters or key contributors to the team.
SETTING IT UP
• On assist percentage for the season, the Gophers led the entire nation at 71.0 percent, including 24 assists on 29 makes vs. UCLA. The second-highest in the nation is Cornell at 68.7 percent, followed by Michigan State (67.6).
• Langston Reynolds and Isaac Asuma combined for 273 of Minnesota's 562 assists. Overall, the Gophers' starting five (that finished the season) also has assists from Cade Tyson (68), Bobby Durkin (61), and Grayson Grove (53). Crocker-Johnson also added 43, while Kai Shinholster had 32.
SHARING THE LOVE
• In the Northwestern win (3/7/26), it marked the 16th time this season in which four or more Gophers scored double-digit points in a game. Minnesota is 11-5 when four or more Gophers score in double digits.
WINS OVER RANKED OPPONENTS
• Minnesota had three wins over ranked opponents this past year. The first game in the game against Indiana (Dec. 3), when the Gophers topped then-No. 22 Hoosiers, 73-64. The Gophers added another win over a ranked opponent against then-No. 19 Iowa, 70-67, on Jan. 6. The Gophers knocked off their highest-ranked win on Feb. 4 when they defeated then-No. 10 Michigan State, 76-73. The win over the Spartans was Minnesota's first win over a top-10 team since the 2020-21 season when it defeated then-No. 7 Michigan. The last time Minnesota defeated three-ranked opponents was also in the 2020-21 season.
WILLIS, VAIHOLA, OMOT, OUT FOR SEASON
• Head coach Niko Medved announced that point guard Chansey Willis Jr., Rob Vaihola and BJ Omot missed the remainder of the season due injuries. Willis Jr., who started in the first eight games for the Gophers, suffered a foot injury that required surgery.
• Prior to the Northwestern game (1.3), Vailhola had surgery on his right knee.
• BJ Omot came to Minnesota after transferring from California and North Dakota, but suffered a leg injury that continued from summer camp into the season and was listed out for the year.
WHERE THEY RANKED
• Cade Tyson ranked sixth in the Big Ten in scoring (19.6 ppg) and ninth in overall points (628). Tyson also ranked third in free throws (175) and fourth in attempts (213), eighth in field goals percentage (.500) and second in minutes per game (36.4).
• Langston Reynolds averages 4.6 assists per game, which ranked seventh in the B1G, while his 150 was ninth in the league. Bobby Durkin ranked eighth in the conference in three-pointers per game (2.42) and ninth in three-pointers made (80).
• As a team, the Gophers held the fourth-best scoring defense in the league (68.5). They also ranked sixth in steals per game (6.3), ninth in turnovers forced per game (10.7), eighth in assist/turnover ratio (1.62) and sixth in assists per game (17.0).
CAREER MILESTONES
• Minnesota's Cade Tyson earned his 1,000th career point on Nov. 3, vs. Gardner-Webb. It took him just minutes to reach his milestone in his Minnesota debut. The senior from Monroe, N.C., scored 912 points at Belmont, 81 at North Carolina, and 628 at Minnesota for 1,621 career points.
• Langston Reynolds scored seven points in the Nebraska game, surpassing the 1,000th career point, and finished his career at 1,171. Reynolds scored 789 points with Northern Colorado and 382 with the Gophers this past season.
• Bobby Durkin established his 1,000th career point vs. UCLA. He had 717 in his two years at Davidson and scored 337 this past season with the Gophers for 1054 points.
IN THE RECORDBOOKS
• Cade Tyson, Bobby Durkin and Langston Reynolds made their mark in the Minnesota season history records this past season. Cade Tyson ranked third in school history in points in a season (628), while his 19.6 points per game ranked fifth among Gophers players since 1978-79. His 175 free throws are third all-time in a season. Bobby Durkin's 80 threes currently rank fourth in school history, while his 204 attempts are ranked fourth. Reynolds' 150 assists are the 10th-most in a single season.
BACK WITH THE THE GOPHERS
• Minnesota had two players remain with the team from the 2024-25 team in Isaac Asuma and Grayson Grove. Asuma saw significant time as a freshman last year, averaging 24.7 minutes and 5.6 points. Grove redshirted the 2024-25 season.
JCJ FOLLOWS MEDVED TO MINNESOTA
• Jaylen Crocker-Johnson followed head coach Niko Medved from Colorado State following the 2024-25 season to Minnesota this past year. Playing in all 36 games for the Rams, he helped CSU to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. Crocker-Johnson averaged nine points and 4.4 rebounds in 21.5 minutes played last season. Before his CSU tenure, Crocker-Johnson played at Arkansas Little Rock, where he started in 33 of 34 games as a freshman.
FRESHMEN FOR 2026-27 SEASON
• Head coach Niko Medved has announced the additions of Nolen Anderson (Plymouth, Minn.), Chadrack Mpoyi (Likasi, Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Cedric Tomes (Woodbury, Minn.) to the 2026-27 roster. Anderson, a 6-foot, 8-inch forward, plays at Wayzata High School and DI Minnesota. Mpoyi, a 6-foot, 11-inch center from Likasi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, plays in California with Crean Lutheran. Tomes, a 6-foot, 1-inch guard, plays with East Ridge High School and D1 Minnesota.
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Coach Medved Previews the Crown
Monday, March 30
Highlights: Gophers 67, Rutgers 72
Wednesday, March 11
Play in Focus: Cade Tyson
Tuesday, March 10