Gophers trying to 'figure it out' — and they don't have time to waste

Cade Tyson has been great, but the rest of the roster has been flat-out horrible the last two games.

Nov 18, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Cade Tyson (10) works around Chicago State Cougars guard Marcus Tankersley (4) during the first half at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Uninspiring wins over Green Bay and Chicago State have created questions about how good the Gophers can be in Year 1 under head coach Niko Medved, but maybe the ugly victories are just part of the process for a team with a new coach and a roster that includes just two players from last season's Minnesota team.

"In the long run, hopefully these things will help us being in close games," Medved said on B1G Today. "You gotta go through a lot of those ups and downs with your team to try to figure it out."

The Green Bay win took overtime, while Minnesota found itself trailing late in the second half before pulling away for a 12-point win over Chicago State. They shot a combined 42 for 107 (39.2%), including 13 of 50 (26%) from three, and 41 of 66 (62.1%) at the free-throw line.

The numbers are even more glaring when you isolate Cade Tyson from the rest of the team. In the last two games, Tyson has scored 49 points on 13 of 27 shooting, including 6 of 13 from three, and 17 of 22 from the free-throw line. The rest of the team has combined to shoot 29 of 80, including 7 of 37 from three, and 24 of 44 at the free-throw line.

Player/Rest	Points	FG%	3FG%	FT%
Tyson	49	48.1	46.1	77.3
Everyone else	89	36.2	18.9	54.5

"As you do this, maybe what your vision was a month ago might be different come the middle of January as you keep growing," Medved said. "You've got new faces, new roles, so that thing continues to be a work in progress."

It's certainly a work in progress, with a focus that needs to be on figuring how how to score when Tyson isn't on the floor. If it weren't for him, Minnesota might've lost to Green Bay and Chicago State, who, on any night where more than one guy was shooting well, would've been blown out.

Minnesota won't come away with a win against a quality San Francisco team, when they meet Saturday in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, if they don't get more production from players not named Cade Tyson.

"San Francisco, they got a great program," Medved said. "They just do a great job. Our fans may not know a ton about San Francisco, but this is going to be a really good game for us, and we're looking forward to us."

After San Francisco, the Gophers head to Arizona for the Acrisure Invitational, where they'll play Stanford on Thanksgiving and then Santa Clara or Saint Louis the next day. Stanford (4-0), Santa Clara (5-0), and Saint Louis (4-0) are all undefeated, and Saint Louis scored 108 points against the same Chicago State team that Minnesota struggled to beat.

The Gophers need to figure it out, and they need to do it right now if they want to have any shot of putting together a successful nonconference campaign. After that, it's on to the first two Big Ten games against undefeated Indiana and No. 1 Purdue in the first 10 days of December.