Gophers dominate Gardner-Webb in first game of the Niko Medved era

Minnesota looked like a well-oiled machine in its first game with Medved at the helm.

Niko Medved talking to his Gophers team during their exhibition win over North Dakota State | Picture via: University of Minnesota Athletics

The first regular season game for Niko Medved as head coach of Gophers men's basketball couldn't have gone much better with an 87-60 win over Gardner-Webb.

Minnesota opened the Medved era with a 10-0 run, and 13 more points before Gardner-Webb added its first field goal of the game at the 11:17 mark of the first-half. The Gophers began the game with a 23-1 lead on the scoreboard and really never looked back.

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The Runnin' Bulldogs were voted to finish eighth out of nine teams in the preseason Big South media poll, but the Gophers showed them that the Big Ten is a different ballgame. Minnesota shot 62.5% from the field and held Gardner-Webb to 23.1% shooting, en route to a 53-20 halftime lead

Colorado State transfer Jaylen Crocker-Johnson had a double-double in the first half with 10 points and 11 rebounds, which was his first since his true freshman season at Little Rock. He finished the game with 13 points and 14 rebounds.

After averaging 27.0 points in Minnesota's two exhibition wins over North Dakota and North Dakota State, North Carolina transfer forward Cade Tyson had another impressive performance. He finished with 30 points on 8 of 12 shooting from the field, 4 of 8 from the three-point line and 10 of 12 from the free throw line. He continues to look like a transfer portal steal for the Gophers.

Scheduled Cade Tyson stat line post

30 points
FGs: 8-12
3P: 4-8
FTs: 10-12
3 rebounds
2 assists

Another great performance to open the regular season against Gardner-Webb. Minnesota has found itself a portal steal.

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— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) November 4, 2025

The Gophers are viewed as a smaller team for Big Ten standards, but they out-physicaled Gardner-Webb. With a 46-24 difference in points in the paint and a 45-31 difference in rebounds, Minnesota made its presence felt.

Isaac Asuma had a career-high seven assists in his first-career start. Northern Colorado transfer Langston Reynolds was Minnesota's only other player in double figures with 14 points off the bench. The Gophers were out-scored 40-34 in the second-half, but still cruised to an 87-60 win, which is a larger margin of victory than any win that Minnesota had last season.

Minnesota will have one final tune-up game on Saturday against Alcorn State at home, before its first real test of the season next week against Missouri on the road on Wednesday, November 12.