What we learned as Gophers' losing streak grows to 10 against rival Badgers

Minnesota's seven-man rotation gave it everything it had on Tuesday night against rival Wisconsin, but the Badgers carried a huge second half to a 78-75 after an insane final sequence. Here's what we learned.

Cade Tyson’s game-tying three followed by the aftermath of Wisconsin’s game winner.

Cannot make it up. 🤦‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/jYIBf5eZ9b
— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) January 14, 2026

Losing streak against Wisconsin grows to 10

Minnesota's last win over the Badgers came on February 9, 2020, which was 2,165 days ago. Tonight's loss makes it 10 defeats in a row for the Gophers, dating all the way back to the Richard Pitino era. Wisconsin has dominated the rivalry for the better part of a decade, and they've done it with dozens of Minnesota-born players. The Gophers have been close a handful of times during the current stretch, but they'll have to wait until Jan. 28 to get another chance.

Is Cade Tyson in a slump?

Tyson was on fire to start his Gophers career, and he found himself near the top of the country in scoring. His standards were incredibly high as one of the top scorers in the sport, and those numbers have dropped as of late. He finished Tuesday night with 14 points on 5 of 10 shooting, and he has now been below 20 points in three of his last five games. Teams are beginning to build their defensive game plan around him, and he will need to adjust.

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Four-game stretch still feels like a success

When the Gophers opened 2026 with Northwestern on the road, and three straight home games against Iowa, USC and Wisconsin, a 2-2 outcome seems like something any realistic fan would've been happy with. With the University of Minnesota's spring semester not officially starting since Jan. 20, it's sometimes hard to draw a huge student crowd, but the Barnyard delivered.

Former Gophers guard Braeden Carrington returned to Williams Arena for the first time since entering the transfer portal in 2024, and the home crowd booed him every single time he touched the ball. He proceeded to hit a career-high seven three-pointers. The Barn was rocking on Tuesday night, and it feels like things are pointed in the right direction.

Langston Reynolds' playmaking

Reynolds' career-high for assists per game in his three seasons at Northern Colorado was 3.4. He has averaged 4.3 assists per game since moving into the starting lineup this season, but that includes a 10-assist game against Texas Southern and 13 dimes against Northwestern.

He was tremendous running Minnesota's offense again on Tuesday night with seven first-half assists. He added three more before following out, and finishing with 10 points. He has found his groove on this Gophers team.

Jaylen Crocker-Johnson's offensive game

Crocker-Johnson continues to outperform any expectations he had when he came to Minnesota in the transfer portal after spending last season with Niko Medved at Colorado State. On a night where Tyson was a bit quieter, he stepped up with 20 points on 7 of 13 shooting from the field. It will be intriguing to see what he could look like with another year in the system.