5 Takeaways From the Shorthanded Gophers’ Win Over UCLA

The Gophers delivered another encouraging effort with just a six-man rotation against UCLA on Saturday at the Barn, in a 78-73 win. Here's what we learn

Bobby Durkin

Durkin has begun to find his groove at the Big Ten level, and Saturday was one of his best performances of the season. The former Davidson transfer hit his first four threes of the game, and he had 12 points before the under-12-minute media timeout in the first half. He continued to stay hot, and he finished with 23 points and seven made threes on the night. He attempted only one shot inside the arc.

Bobby Durkin triple 💥 @GopherMBB

📺: FS1 pic.twitter.com/vZqteFkSrc
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 28, 2026

Defending Tyler Bilodeau

The Gophers have done an admirable job of slowing down the opposing team's best player all season, but that was not the case on Saturday. Bilodeau entered the matchup averaging a team-high 17.9 points per game. He nearly passed that number with 16 first-half points, and he continued to give Minnesota all it could handle throughout the game with 32 points on 21 shots. Saturday was not the Gophers' defensive performance of the season, and Biloldeau's scoring was a big reason why.

Three-point shooting

Both UCLA and Minnesota began the game red-hot from the three-point line, which resulted in one of their highest scoring first halves of the season. The Gophers shot 53.8% from the field and 66.7% from three in the first half, compared to UCLA, which was 57.1% from the field and 53.8% from three. Those numbers continued into the second half, and Minnesota finished 52.2% from long range. Durkin had seven threes.

Langston Reynolds' finishing

Reynolds has not been known for his shooting ability this season, but he continues to be among the Gophers' best finishers around the rim. The entire roster knows their roles and operates them at a high level, but maybe none more efficiently than Reynolds. He found a way to get to the hoop when Minnesota needed it most on Saturday, and he finished 8 for 14 from the field with 21 points against UCLA.

Efficiency

The Gophers have had one of the best assist rates in college basketball all season, and it's for good reason. Despite having 10 incoming transfers and six players out with a season-ending injury, Niko Medved has implemented a selfish style of basketball from game one. UCLA had a great afternoon offensively, but Minnesota's offense was better. They finished with 24 assists on 29 made field goals.