Severely Shorthanded Gophers Grind Out Road Win at Oregon

Minnesota was able to get the job done on Tuesday night with just six players.

Jan 17, 2026; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach Niko Medved reacts during the second half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

It's snack time for Gophers men's basketball. They're leaving Eugene, Oregon, with a 61-44 win over the Ducks for just their second true road win of the season. Here's what we learned.

Grayson Grove's improvement

With Jaylen Crocker-Johnson out of the lineup for a second straight game due to a foot injury, Tuesday night was Grove's fifth start of the season. He objectively struggled on Saturday against Washington as essentially Minnesota's lone frontcourt player, and Huskies big man Hannes Steinbach had 26 points and nine rebounds.

Grove had a much better game on both ends of the floor against the Ducks. Oregon big man Nate Bittle had just 15 points, and Grove finished with a career-high 13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. The improvement he has shown throughout his redshirt freshman season could pay dividends for Minnesota well beyond this season.

Isaac Asuma's sixth straight game in double figures

Asuma had the worst game of his college career on Jan. 24 against Nebraska. He has since rattled off a career-high six games in a row with 10 or more points. He led Minnesota with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists on 6 of 14 shooting from the field. He was the lone contributor to return from last season's team, and he's beginning to play like a true leader on both ends of the floor.

Isaac Asuma for the @GopherMBB three 👌

📺: FS1 pic.twitter.com/aszzUSIOGt

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 18, 2026

This team is still fully bought in

The Gophers were coming into Tuesday night off a 12-point loss to Washington, which was just their second by double digits since Dec. 10. At 11-14 overall and 4-10 in the Big Ten before tonight, their outlook for the rest of the season looked questionable. In the modern college basketball era, this can be the point of the season when players start making their plans to enter the transfer portal and look ahead to the following season. That is not the case with this Gophers team.

Every healthy player on the roster is fully bought into the 2025-26 season, and that's why fans should be encouraged about the future with Niko Medved as head coach. With a 9:30 p.m. CT start on the second leg of a West Coast road trip, this was a glaring opportunity for Minnesota to come out sluggish with just a six-man rotation. Great coaches can get their teams motivated for any game on the schedule, and Minnesota's coaching staff deserves a ton of credit for having its team ready.