What we learned from Minnesota's thrilling upset win over No. 19 Iowa

Since December, the Minnesota Golden Gophers have been red-hot, and they don't plan on stopping anytime soon with another upset 70-67 win over No. 19 Iowa on Tuesday night. Here's what we learned.

The Langston Reynolds game

When starting point guard Chansey Willis Jr. was ruled out for the season, Minnesota moved Reynolds to the starting lineup, and he continues to look like a different player. He had his best game of the season with 13 points, 6 rebounds and 13 assists against Northwestern, and he backed it up with 22 points on 9 of 13 shooting with 5 rebounds and 4 assists against Iowa. Guard play is what wins in late-season college basketball, and Minnesota has found its lead guard.

DOING WHAT HE DOES

Langston Reynolds has 15 💪

📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/gd7oOZ5YT7
— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) January 7, 2026

Ready for the moment

It's common for college basketball teams to have a bit of hangover following a big road win, especially when you only play a seven-man rotation like the Gophers. That was not the case on Tuesday night, after Saturday's win at Northwestern. They jumped out to a fast 12-3 start. It might seem small, but those are the type of things that pay off in the long run.

Star Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz went to the bench with two fouls after Minnesota's early push, but it was the Hawkeyes who responded with a 14-6 run of their own to get back into the game. Tonight was Niko Medved's first taste of the Iowa rivalry as the program's head coach, and he made a statement.

Defending Bennett Stirtz

Stirtz came into Tuesday and was held to zero points in the first half on 0 of 5 shooting from the field. It was a combination of Reynolds, Cade Tyson and Kai Shinholster matched up with him all night, but Minnesota clearly had a plan to slow down one of the best guards in the country. Many NBA mock drafts view Stirtz as a first-round pick, but it was Reynolds who looked like the best guard on the floor.

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Stirtz completely turned things around with a 21-point second half, and he was the only reason Iowa was able to still give Minnesota a scare. He's the type of player you can only hope to contain, and the Gophers did just enough.

Overall gameplan

Stirtz and Robert Morris transfer, Alvaro Folgueiras, have looked like future NBA players to start this season. Minnesota shut down Stirtz in the first half, and Folgueiras was scoreless. Hawkeyes head coach Ben McCollum has been touted nationally as one of the best young head coaches in the country, but it was Medved who had the more prepared team, by a wide margin.

Is this sustainable?

When Minnesota lost Willis and Robert Vaihola for the season, it seemed like it would be a challenge to make serious noise in the Big Ten this season. That is not the case after starting 3-1 in conference play without either player, and two wins have come against ranked opponents. Common sense would imply that a seven-man rotation would struggle in the conference play grind as the season wears on, but what Medved and the Gophers are doing right now is not common sense.