What we learned from Minnesota's blowout loss at No. 6 Purdue

The Gophers trailed by only three points at halftime, but a Purdue avalanche in the second half made the final score 85-57. Here's what we learned.

Purdue opens second-half on 21-0 run

The Gophers entered halftime with a 35-32 deficit. Any reason for confidence was quickly deflated when Purdue opened the second half on a 21-0 run, which grew to 29-2. The sixth-ranked Boilermakers made it seem like they were just playing with their food in the first half, before completely overwhelming the Gophers in the final 20 minutes.

Isaac Asuma's development

Asuma has started every game this season, and his role has grown even more when Chansey Willis Jr. was ruled out for the season with an injury. He averaged 14 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in the first two games without Willis on 8 of 21 shooting from the field. It's hard to judge a true freshman against one of the best backcourts in the Big Ten, but his numbers dropped to 5 points on 2 of 8 shooting with 5 rebounds and 5 assists on Wednesday night. Given Minnesota's injuries right now, they'll need more consistency from Asuma in order to compete with teams like Purdue.

Jaylen Crocker-Johnson's foul trouble

Crocker-Johnson recorded at least four fouls in three of Minnesota's last four games entering Wednesday night's matchup against Purdue. The foul trouble followed him again with two quick ones, sending him to the bench just over five minutes into the game. The Gophers are already thin in the frontcourt with Robert Vaihola dealing with an injury, so having Crocker-Johnson on the bench with fouls only makes things harder. He had a team-high 17 points, but four fouls, and the Gophers need him to stay on the floor at all costs.

Rotation

G: Isaac Asuma
G: Langston Reynolds
F: Bobby Durkin
F: Cade Tyson
C: Jaylen Crocker-Johson
6th: Grayson Grove
7th: Kai Shinholster
8th: Maximus Gizzi
9th: Nehemiah Turner
10th: R.J. Spencer

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Minnesota had only 10 healthy players on Wednesday night, with Robert Vaihola and B.J. Omot still out due to injury. Niko Medved opted for a seven-player rotation against one of the deepest teams in college basketball, before Gizzie, Turner and Spencer got into the game in cleanup duty. They will badly need to get some players back before Big Ten play continues in 2026.

Cade Tyson's quiet night

Tyson entered Wednesday night, averaging the fifth-most points in the country at 21.8. He had only 15 points against Purdue on 4 of 11 shooting, which is only one point more than his season-low against San Francisco. It's obvious that this team will not be able to compete with the top of the Big Ten without Tyson lighting up the scoreboard.

Now 5-5, Minnesota will have three days before hosting Texas Southern on Sunday in its third-to-last nonconference game of the season.