Free-throw woes sink Gophers in wire-to-wire loss to San Francisco

Minnesota looked worn out against the Dons on Saturday in Sioux Falls.

Nov 18, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Cade Tyson (10) shoots against the Chicago State Cougars during the first half at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Gophers hit the road for a neutral-site nonconference game on Saturday against San Francisco at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and they're coming back to the Twin Cities with a 77-65 loss.

Minnesota entered Saturday's game banged up with starting big man Robert Vaihola out, after he suffered a knee injury against Chicago State on Tuesday. B.J. Omot remained out for the fifth straight game, and freshman guard Kai Shinholster was questionable. The Gophers wound up playing an eight-man rotation.

San Francisco scored first, and Minnesota wasn't able to grab a lead for the entire game. The Dons leaned on a nine-man rotation with efficient shooting. The Gophers were able to stick around to keep things relatively close at 34-27 heading into the half, despite leading scorer Cade Tyson being held to only five points.

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The Gophers didn't hold a single lead in the first half. It looked like San Francisco was going to continue controlling the pace of Saturday's game, but Northern Colorado transfer guard Langston Reynolds put Minnesota on his back. They were down by as many as 10 in the second half, but evened things at 52 with nine minutes to go.

Cade Tyson with the DUNK.

H2 13:38 - San Francisco 48 | Minnesota 39
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Reynolds ended with a season-high 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting from the field. Foul trouble from Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, who eventually fouled out, and a season-low 14 points from Cade Tyson was too much to overcome. Ultimately, Minnesota shot 15 of 30 from the free-throw line. The free-throw shooting issue that arose against Green Bay seems to be a reason for concern.

The Dons have quietly become one of the most consistent mid-major programs in the country under fourth-year head coach Chris Gerlufsen, so a 77-65 neutral-site loss isn't going to be fatal to Minnesota's postseason tournament resume, but there were some concerning trends on Saturday night.

Now 4-2, Minnesota will have a few days off before heading west to Palm Springs, California for the Acrisure Invitational on next week. They will play Stanford on Thursday, and then Santa Clara or St. Louis on Friday.