Gophers' Leading Scorer Reportedly Doubtful Ahead of Wisconsin Clash

Cade Tyson left Saturday's game with 10 minutes left in the second half and never returned after landing awkwardly and twisting his ankle.

Jan 24, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Pryce Sandfort (21) drives towards the basket as Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Cade Tyson (10) defends during the second half at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Gophers are likely to be without leading scorer Cade Tyson for Wednesday's trip to Madison. According to the Pioneer Press' Andy Greder, head coach Niko Medved has ruled Tyson as "doubtful" for the rivalry showdown with the Badgers.

In Minnesota's 19-point loss to Nebraska on Saturday, Tyson landed awkwardly on a Cornhusker player's foot, causing the Gophers forward to twist his ankle. He attempted to remain in the game, but with 10 minutes left, Tyson went the bench and never returned.

Tyson has been the primary star for Minnesota this season. The 6-foot-7 senior forward leads the Gophers in minutes played per game (36.0), points (20.1), and free-throw attempts (7.6). He's shot 50 percent from the floor and 40 percent from deep on five attempts per game. Only Northwestern's Nick Martinelli has a higher scoring average among Big Ten players than Tyson (minimum 10 games played).

Saturday's loss was Minnesota's fifth in a row after a 3-1 start in conference player. They have routinely kept games close into halftime before losing steam down the stretch. Tyson's injury is the latest to hit the injury-ravaged Gophers this season. Medved has already been without four scholarship players, including two starters (Chansey Willis Jr., Robert Vaihola) and a couple projected key bench pieces (BJ Omot, Chance Stephens).

Losing Tyson for any extended time could prove fatal for a Gophers team that had been playing with just a seven-man rotation before his injury. Minnesota is 10-10 on the season and 3-6 in conference play. The Gophers are currently 12th in the conference.

Now, seemingly without Tyson, the Gophers will look to go to Madison and break a 10-game losing streak to the Badgers. Wisconsin already got one over on Minnesota earlier this season when they sank a game-winning three at the buzzer at Williams Arena. Tyson had leveled the score with a three just seconds before the Badgers were able to pull out the win in a wild end-of-game sequence that left Gophers fans heartbroken earlier in January.

Greg Gard's Badgers are 14-6 overall and 6-3 in Big Ten play. They saw a five-game winning streak come to an end in a narrow loss to USC on Sunday.

Only playing six players doesn't seem realistic for Medved on Wednesday, which means big man Nehemiah Turner or NAIA transfer Maximus Gizzi may need to join the rotation.

Very curious to see how the Gophers' rotation looks tomorrow night without Cade Tyson

G: Isaac Asuma
G: Langston Reynolds
F: Bobby Durkin
F: Grayson Grove
F: Jaylen Crocker-Johnson
6th: Kai Shinloster

Does Nehemiah Turner get any run? Maximus Gizzi? https://t.co/uCaQOLwba0

— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) January 27, 2026

This is yet another injury headache for Medved to manage in his first year as Gophers head coach. It's an 8:00 p.m. CT game on Big Ten Network.

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