What we learned from Minnesota's impressive road win at Northwestern

The Gophers opened 2026 with their first win away from Williams Arena this season. They put together one of their most complete performances of the season in an 84-78 win over Northwestern. Here's what we learned.

Gophers' ball movement and cutting

The Gophers lead the country in assist percentage with an assist on 74.7% of their made field goals entering Saturday's game. They showed why against Northwestern with 25 assists on 28 made field goals. With Robert Vaihola and Chansey Willis Jr. both out for the year, this team will be severely shorthanded in almost every Big Ten game, but they will get the most out of their talent.

Jaylen Crocker-Johnson's foul trouble

Crocker-Johnson has struggled with foul trouble all season, and it continued on Saturday with two quick fouls 10 minutes into the first half. Minnesota was trailing 17-15 when he went to the bench. The Gophers out-scored the Wildcats 19-17 with him on the bench for the rest of the first half, and that was in large part due to solid minutes from Grayson Grove, who finished with a career-high 12 points.

Minnesota's rotation is already short without Vaihola and Willis. They're not always going to be able to handle Crocker-Johnson in foul trouble like they did today. It will be something he has to improve as Big Ten play ramps up.

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Isaac Asuma's response

Asuma had one of the worst games of his Gophers career against Fairleigh Dickinson last week. He was 2 of 14 from the field and 1 of 10 from three-point range. He had a great response against Northwestern with 18 points and nine rebounds on 6 of 11 shooting from the field.

Langston Reynolds' versatility

Reynolds was thrust into a starting role after Willis was ruled out for the season. It has been a mixed bag of results offensively, but he has been Minnesota's most consistent perimeter defender all season. The Gophers mixed in some zone defense for much of Saturday's game, but Reynolds' versatility continues to be a huge advantage with a small rotation. He also struggled against Fairleigh Dickinson, but he responded with arguably his best game of the season, with 13 points, 6 rebounds and 13 assists.

Cade Tyson's huge second half

Tyson had a season-low 12 points against Fairleigh Dickinson, and it took a while for him to get in an offensive rhythm against the Wildcats. He was 1 of 5 from the field in the first half for only seven points. He looked like himself in the second half with 17 points to give himself 24 on the day.

Cade Tyson.

Ice water in his veins.

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— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) January 3, 2026