Injuries pile up as Gophers fall to Stanford at Acrisure Invitational

Minnesota couldn't overcome another injury on Thursday night in Palm Springs.

Nov 3, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach Niko Medved looks on during the first half against the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Gophers traveled to Palm Springs, California, for the Acrisure Invitational. banged up, and the injuries continued to mount in a hard-fought 72-68 loss to Stanford.

Minnesota entered Thursday's opening round game shorthanded without starting big man Robert Vaihola, who was out for the second straight contest with a knee injury. Redshirt freshman Grayson Grove made his first career start alongside Jaylen Crocker-Johnson in the frontcourt.

The Gophers and Cardinal both entered Thursday's game off a loss, and it took a while for both offenses to find some confidence. Chansey Willis Jr. picked up two quick fouls, and things heated up once Langston Reynolds entered the game. Minnesota's bench led a 16-1 run to take an early 21-14 lead.

HOF slasher Lang

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Stanford scored 13 points off six first-half Minnesota turnovers, which helped the Cardinal fight back. Cade Tyson and Crocker-Johnson scored 22 of the Gophers' 34 first-half points, and they led 34-31 heading into the break.

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Willis Jr. came out of the locker room with a boot on his right foot, which knocked their rotation down to only seven players. The Gophers tried everything in the second half, including moving to a zone, expanded minutes for Kai Shinholster, and a bigger role for Bobby Durkin, but it wasn't enough.

True freshman Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie entered Thursday's game averaging 23.8 points per game, which ranked fourth in the country. He continued to look like one of the best offensive players in college basketball with a game-high 25 points on 9 of 21 shooting from the field.

Tyson and Crocker-Johnson continued to carry the offensive load for Minnesota with 19 and 23 points, respectively. The Gophers had a handful of chances to tie the game up or take a late lead, but they couldn't hit the big shot they needed. Stanford turned 14 Gophers turnovers into 27 points, and that was ultimately the difference in a 72-68 loss.

After tonight's loss, the Gophers are 4-3 on the season, and they'll have a quick turnaround before playing their Acrisure Invitational consolation game tomorrow night against Santa Clara, which lost its first-round game against Saint Louis 71-70.