How Will the Gophers Respond After Losing ‘Spirit’ Against Nebraska?

Minnesota carries two lofty losing streaks into Wednesday's game at Wisconsin.

Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach Niko Medved reacts in the first half of the NCAA basketball game at Value City Arena on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio. | Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With four scholarship transfers out for the season, the Gophers have faced a ton of adversity in Niko Medved's first season as head coach. After starting Big Ten play red-hot, winning three of their first four conference games, they've since lost five in a row. Where do they go from here?

Minnesota has had a roller coaster season. Following two blowout wins to start the season, there were essentially six concerning results in a row before knocking off No. 22 Indiana at home. They've looked like a different team since that moment. They continue to punch above their weight, but five straight losses are glaring.

The Gophers led at halftime in two of the losses, and they never trailed by more than five heading into the locker room. Saturday's 19-point loss to No. 7 Nebraska looked like the first time that the injuries truly caught up to them.

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"I thought for the first time down the stretch, they kind of looked like they lost their spirit. I thought Nebraska really kind of broke us here today, and that hasn't happened to this team in a long time," Medved said after the game.

Niko Medved’s full opening statement after today’s loss to No. 7 Nebraska. pic.twitter.com/OpzQLAx1fx

— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) January 24, 2026

"We were already kind of bending a little bit, and I think maybe when Cade [Tyson] went out, and he couldn't come back, it just felt like that maybe broke us. Just look like it broke our spirit, and that was disappointing."

Medved essentially confirmed that Tyson sprained his ankle against the Cornhuskers, and they're waiting to find out the severity of the injury. Tyson leads Minnesota with 20.0 points per game this season, and losing him for any extended period of time feels like it would be a fatal blow to remaining competitive against Big Ten competition.

After Saturday's loss, the Gophers are 10-10 on the season and 3-6 in conference play. If the season ended today, they would be the 13-seed in the Big Ten tournament. They have 11 regular-season games remaining, and their schedule lightens up with six of those games against the bottom half of the conference.

Big Ten tournament bracket if the season ended today (Jan. 26) | Picture via: bball.notnothing.net

Minnesota's injuries have forced Medved's hand quite a bit, and he has essentially rolled with a seven-man rotation since Robert Vaihola went down. Depending on Tyson's status, he might have to go even deeper into his bench.

Central Arkansas big man Nehemiah Turner has not played more than five minutes in a game since Dec. 3 against Indiana. His jump from the Atlantic Sun conference to the Big Ten hasn't gone smoothly. He was a different player in February last season, with 10 straight games in double figures to end the year. It might be time for the Gophers to see if he can have a similar breakout.

Another player Minnesota could look at is Huntington University (NAIA) transfer guard Maximus Gizzi. The Gophers desperately need to find a way to avoid gassing out in second halves, and he could provide 5-10 hard minutes a game to give the starters a rest.

The multitude of injuries to key players has made this season feel like year zero for Medved's tenure, but they still have an opportunity to squeeze everything they can out of the 2025-26 season. That will start on Wednesday night with a huge opportunity against Wisconsin at the Kohl Center.