Can Gophers sustain heavy minutes for starters in 7-man rotation?

After Tuesday night's exciting upset win over No. 19 Iowa at Williams Arena, the Gophers are off to a 3-1 start to Big Ten play that nobody saw coming. Niko Medved's team is building momentum and belief and has come a long way since dropping three straight games against middling teams from California in late November.

The vibes around the men's basketball program are high right now, but the question that must be asked is how sustainable this current success is. Due to several injuries to players who were expected to have key roles, Medved has been using a seven-man rotation and playing his starters for heavy, heavy minutes. Can they stay healthy and continue to play well without getting worn down?

Cade Tyson, the Gophers' leading scorer, has averaged 35.5 minutes per game this season, which is tied for second-most in the Big Ten. He only played 33 against Iowa, which must have felt like a breeze after playing 40, 39, and 40 in the first three conference games.

"Honestly, it's definitely a blessing," Tyson said of the big minutes. "We grew up playing this sport, it's what we love to do. If we can play 40 minutes, we would love to — all of us out there on the floor."

It's a similar story for Isaac Asuma, who played all 39 minutes against Indiana, all 40 against Northwestern, and 36 against Iowa. Langston Reynolds, the star of the Iowa win, played at least 38 minutes in all three of those games. Bobby Durkin played 37 minutes against Indiana. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson has at least gotten slightly more rest in conference play than his fellow starters.

"It does take a lot of toughness," Medved said. "The other night at Northwestern, we had three guys roll all 40. I've never seen that in a college game, at least one that I've been a part of."

The only bench players to appear against Iowa and Northwestern were redshirt freshman big man Grayson Grove and true freshman guard Kai Shinholster, neither of whom was expected to have a significant role coming into this season. That's what happens when the injury bug hits a program as hard as it has hit the Gophers this year.

Chansey Willis Jr., who started the first seven games of the year at point guard, is out for the season. So is big man Robert Vaihola, who started the first five contests. That's thrust Reynolds and Durkin into the starting lineup. Two other expected rotation players on this roster full of transfers — wing BJ Omot and guard Chance Stephens — haven't played yet and remain out indefinitely. It's possible neither one will suit up for the Gophers this season.

Without four rotation players, Medved doesn't really have an option but to lean on his starters. It'll be interesting to see if big man Nehemiah Turner, who has fallen behind Grove on the depth chart, gets mixed into the rotation at all to at least bring it up to eight players. The only other healthy players on the roster are NAIA transfer Maximus Gizzi and walk-ons RJ Spencer and Max Lorenson.

"When you have injuries like that, it creates clarity," Medved said. "The decision tree is gone. These are the seven guys, whatever, in the rotation, and we've gotta find a way to make it work. But you know what? They're embracing it."

Right now, all Medved can really do is hope that Tyson, Asuma, Reynolds and the rest of his starting group can stay healthy and continue to play well as a unit. They're off to a surprising start to conference play and will look to keep the momentum going on Friday night in another winnable home against USC.

More Gophers basketball