The result of Thursday night’s exhibition between Minnesota and North Dakota State will not count towards either team’s regular-season record, but the Gophers’ 80-54 win did give us our first look at Niko Medved’s 2025-26 team against another Division I opponent. Here are five takeaways from the game.
Minnesota’s two major backcourt additions in the transfer portal were Reynolds from Northern Colorado and Willis from Western Michigan. Both players have two very different skillsets, as Reynolds is a natural two-guard and Willis Jr. plays with the ball in his hands.
Willis got the nod in the starting lineup on Thursday night, and both players struggled to find their rhythm. Reynolds had four points on two of nine shooting with four rebounds and six assists. Willis had seven points on 2 of 4 shooting with three rebounds and four assists. It will be interesting to see how Minnesota handles the backcourt situation next to Asuma throughout the season.
The Gophers added 13 new players this offseason, so there was some intrigue about what their starting lineup might look like. Willis Jr., Isaac Asuma, Cade Tyson, Jaylen Crocker-Johnson and Cade Tyson were the first group on the floor. Four of the players seemed expected, but Vaihola getting the nod over Davidson transfer Durkin was slightly surprising. Ultimately, it’s a group that could see some changes throughout the season.
Gophers starting lineup for tonight’s exhibition against NDSU
Chansey Willis Jr.
Isaac Asuma
Cade Tyson
Jaylen Crocker-Johnson
Robert Vaihola pic.twitter.com/fQdg8h1jzJ
— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) October 16, 2025
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Tyson was Minnesota’s last scholarship addition from the transfer portal in the offseason. After two great seasons at Belmont, he had a down year last season at North Carolina. Against North Dakota State, he looked like the player we saw in the Missouri Valley Conference. He blew the game open for Minnesota when he went on an 11-0 run by himself in the second half, and he finished with a game-high 28 points on 9 of 13 shooting from the field. He’s a player who can lead Minnesota in scoring on any given night.
TYSON. ON. FIRE.
Subscribe/watch on B1G+ https://t.co/nJnnCBF5dj pic.twitter.com/VhUIBgPJkF
— Minnesota Men’s Basketball (@GopherMBB) October 17, 2025
Grove was one of two players who opted to stay with the Gophers through the coaching change. After redshirting last year as a true freshman, it was hard to gauge what his role would be this season. The Alexandria, Minn. native was one of the first three players off the bench on Thursday night, which makes it seem like he’s a player that the Gophers trust to have a role in the frontcourt this season. Two early fouls limited him to only seven minutes, but it looks like he currently has a spot in the rotation.
Grove, Durkin, Reynolds and B.J. Omot were the only four players to come off the bench for the Gophers on Thursday night. Central Arkansas transfer Nehemiah Turner and true freshman guard Kai Shinholster were the only two scholarship players who did not log minutes until things got well out of hand in the second half.
