University of Minnesota Athletics
Monday, November 3
7:00 PM
University of Minnesota
vs
Gardner-Webb
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard/Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Gophers Set to Open Season Nov. 3 Hosting Gardner-Webb
10/30/2025 3:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Stream: B1G+
Tip Time: 7:01 p.m.
Radio: KTLK (103.5 FM/AM 1130) (Mike Grimm, Al Nolen)
Sirius: 390
SERIES INFORMATION
Only Meeting: Nov. 28, 2005 (L, 72-73)
All-Time Series: 0-1 (Game Played at Williams Arena)
Medved vs. Gardner-Webb: 3-2
STARTING FIVE
• The Golden Gopher men's basketball team opens the 2025-26 campaign with Gardner-Webb coming to town on Monday, Nov. 3. The 2025-26 season marks the 131st year of Golden Gopher basketball, dating back to the 1895-96 season.
• The game marks a new era in Gopher men's basketball as head coach Niko Medved makes his Minnesota debut. In his 13th year as a head coach and first at Minnesota, Medved holds a career mark of 222-172, dating back to the 2013-14 season when he began his career at Furman. Coincidentally, his first Division I head coaching win at Furman came against Gardner-Webb.
• Minnesota closed out its exhibition season last week when it defeated North Dakota, 82-62, at Williams Arena on Oct. 25. Four Gophers scored in double-digits in the win, led again by Cade Tyson with 26 points. Langston Reynolds (17), Chansey Willis Jr. (12) and Jaylen Crocker-Johnson (10) all reached double-figures. Tyson finished the game 9-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-6 from beyond the three-point arc, and was 4-of-5 at the line. Reynolds came off the bench for his 17 points and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the field and 5-of-5 at the line.
• In back-to-back exhibition games, Tyson scored 28 and 26 points to average 27 in exhibition play and scored 10 three-pointers in 53 minutes of play. In his first game against North Dakota State, he added six threes and went 9-of-13. Tyson is closing in on his 1,000th career point. Tyson scored 912 points when he was with Belmont and contributed 81 with North Carolina last season for 993 career points entering his Minnesota tenure.
• Chansey Willis Jr. not only scored 12 points in the North Dakota exhibition but also recorded eight assists and two steals in the win. In his career, Willis Jr., has 431 assists, including 235 in Division I play. He tallied 140 assists last season at Western Michigan.
ALL-TIME SERIES
• The Nov. 3 game marks just the second time in Minnesota school history it has played Gardner-Webb and the first since the 2005-06 season. The Golden Gophers fell to the Runnin' Bulldogs, 73-72 on Nov. 28, 2005.
• In that game, Gardner-Webb's T.J. McCullough scored a layup and the free throw with 3.2 seconds remaining to secure the win. Gopher alums Spencer Tollackson and Moe Hargrow each scored 21 points in that game.
NEW ERA BEGINS WITH COACH MEDVED
• Head coach Niko Medved was named the University of Minnesota men's basketball coach on March 24, 2025. He begins his Gopher head coaching career with 12 years of head coaching experience, most recently at Colorado State University. He enters his Gopher tenure with a career record of 222-172. Medved helped the Rams advance to the NCAA Tournament three of the past four seasons. Medved, a Roseville, Minn., native, earned both a bachelor's and master's degree from Minnesota.
• Medved is joined on the coaching sidelines by Brian Cooley, Armon Gates, Aaron Katsuma, Dave Thorson and Chad Warner. Cooley, Katsuma and Thorson all worked with Medved in previous positions. Medved also brought along Joe De Ciman (chief of staff), Rachel Herndon (director of operations), Anthony Holland (player personnel), Lucas Stieber (player development) with him from Colorado State and added former Gopher manager Drew Evenson (scouting & analytics).
RETURNING FOR THE GOPHERS
• Minnesota had two players remain with the team from the 2024-25 team in Isaac Asuma and Grayson Grove. Asuma saw significant time as a freshman last year when he averaged 24.7 minutes and averaged 5.6 points as a rookie. Grove redshirted the 2024-25 season.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
• Minnesota welcomes 13 new additions to the roster: Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, Bobby Durkin, Maximus Gizzi, Max Lorenson, BJ Omot, Langston Reynolds, Kai Shinholster, RJ Spencer, Chance Stephens, Nehemiah Turner, Cade Tyson, Robert Vaihola and Chansey Willis Jr. Roster breakdown includes: six seniors (Reynolds, Vaihola, Tyson, Gizzi, Spencer and Willis Jr.), four juniors (Durkin, Crocker-Johnson, Stephens, Omot), two sophomores (Asuma, Turner) and three freshmen (Grove-redshirt, Lorenson, Shinholster).
GOPHER NEWCOMERS
• Following Asuma and Grove's committment to staying with the program, Medved and staff immediately went to work and signed Minnesota native BJ Omot and Colorado State transfer Jaylen Crocker-Johnson. Omot played at North Dakota for two years before transferring to Cal last season. He played four games with the Bears, however, was sidelined for the remainder of the season due to injury. Crocker-Johnson followed head coach Niko Medved from Colorado State last season to Minnesota this year. Playing in all 36 games for the Rams, he helped CSU to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. Crocker-Johnson averaged nine points and 4.4 rebounds in 21.5 minutes played last season. Before his CSU tenure, Crocker-Johnson played at Arkansas Little Rock where he started in 33 of 34 games as a freshman.
ABOUT THE RUNNIN' BULLDOGS
• Gardner-Webb enters its second year under head coach Jeremy Luther. In his first campaign with the Runnin' Bulldogs, Gardner-Webb went 11-20 last season and finished 5-11 (eighth) in Big South play. The Runnin' Bulldogs were voted to finish eighth in the 2025-26 Big South preseason poll.
• Following the opener against Minnesota, Gardner-Webb competes at Clemson on Nov. 7 and opens the home season hosting North Greenville on Nov. 10.
• Gardner-Webb welcomes 11 newcomers to its roster as they join five returners from last year's squad. The Runnin' Bulldogs lost their top six scorers from last year's team. Jacob Hudson saw action in 27 games, while Colin Hawkins saw action in 20. Bolstering their roster are Ace Talbert, who played at St. Francis last season, and Curtis Williams III, who was at Northwest Florida State. DJ Jefferson played at Longwood and Tennessee, and also has local ties, having played at Minnesota Prep.
ON THE DOCKET
• Minnesota hosts Alcorn State on Saturday, Nov. 8 for an 11 a.m. tip. The game will be broadcast on Peacock and available through the Gopher Radio Network with Mike Grimm and Al Nolen on KFAN 100.3 FM.
Stream: B1G+
Tip Time: 7:01 p.m.
Radio: KTLK (103.5 FM/AM 1130) (Mike Grimm, Al Nolen)
Sirius: 390
SERIES INFORMATION
Only Meeting: Nov. 28, 2005 (L, 72-73)
All-Time Series: 0-1 (Game Played at Williams Arena)
Medved vs. Gardner-Webb: 3-2
STARTING FIVE
• The Golden Gopher men's basketball team opens the 2025-26 campaign with Gardner-Webb coming to town on Monday, Nov. 3. The 2025-26 season marks the 131st year of Golden Gopher basketball, dating back to the 1895-96 season.
• The game marks a new era in Gopher men's basketball as head coach Niko Medved makes his Minnesota debut. In his 13th year as a head coach and first at Minnesota, Medved holds a career mark of 222-172, dating back to the 2013-14 season when he began his career at Furman. Coincidentally, his first Division I head coaching win at Furman came against Gardner-Webb.
• Minnesota closed out its exhibition season last week when it defeated North Dakota, 82-62, at Williams Arena on Oct. 25. Four Gophers scored in double-digits in the win, led again by Cade Tyson with 26 points. Langston Reynolds (17), Chansey Willis Jr. (12) and Jaylen Crocker-Johnson (10) all reached double-figures. Tyson finished the game 9-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-6 from beyond the three-point arc, and was 4-of-5 at the line. Reynolds came off the bench for his 17 points and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the field and 5-of-5 at the line.
• In back-to-back exhibition games, Tyson scored 28 and 26 points to average 27 in exhibition play and scored 10 three-pointers in 53 minutes of play. In his first game against North Dakota State, he added six threes and went 9-of-13. Tyson is closing in on his 1,000th career point. Tyson scored 912 points when he was with Belmont and contributed 81 with North Carolina last season for 993 career points entering his Minnesota tenure.
• Chansey Willis Jr. not only scored 12 points in the North Dakota exhibition but also recorded eight assists and two steals in the win. In his career, Willis Jr., has 431 assists, including 235 in Division I play. He tallied 140 assists last season at Western Michigan.
ALL-TIME SERIES
• The Nov. 3 game marks just the second time in Minnesota school history it has played Gardner-Webb and the first since the 2005-06 season. The Golden Gophers fell to the Runnin' Bulldogs, 73-72 on Nov. 28, 2005.
• In that game, Gardner-Webb's T.J. McCullough scored a layup and the free throw with 3.2 seconds remaining to secure the win. Gopher alums Spencer Tollackson and Moe Hargrow each scored 21 points in that game.
NEW ERA BEGINS WITH COACH MEDVED
• Head coach Niko Medved was named the University of Minnesota men's basketball coach on March 24, 2025. He begins his Gopher head coaching career with 12 years of head coaching experience, most recently at Colorado State University. He enters his Gopher tenure with a career record of 222-172. Medved helped the Rams advance to the NCAA Tournament three of the past four seasons. Medved, a Roseville, Minn., native, earned both a bachelor's and master's degree from Minnesota.
• Medved is joined on the coaching sidelines by Brian Cooley, Armon Gates, Aaron Katsuma, Dave Thorson and Chad Warner. Cooley, Katsuma and Thorson all worked with Medved in previous positions. Medved also brought along Joe De Ciman (chief of staff), Rachel Herndon (director of operations), Anthony Holland (player personnel), Lucas Stieber (player development) with him from Colorado State and added former Gopher manager Drew Evenson (scouting & analytics).
RETURNING FOR THE GOPHERS
• Minnesota had two players remain with the team from the 2024-25 team in Isaac Asuma and Grayson Grove. Asuma saw significant time as a freshman last year when he averaged 24.7 minutes and averaged 5.6 points as a rookie. Grove redshirted the 2024-25 season.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
• Minnesota welcomes 13 new additions to the roster: Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, Bobby Durkin, Maximus Gizzi, Max Lorenson, BJ Omot, Langston Reynolds, Kai Shinholster, RJ Spencer, Chance Stephens, Nehemiah Turner, Cade Tyson, Robert Vaihola and Chansey Willis Jr. Roster breakdown includes: six seniors (Reynolds, Vaihola, Tyson, Gizzi, Spencer and Willis Jr.), four juniors (Durkin, Crocker-Johnson, Stephens, Omot), two sophomores (Asuma, Turner) and three freshmen (Grove-redshirt, Lorenson, Shinholster).
GOPHER NEWCOMERS
• Following Asuma and Grove's committment to staying with the program, Medved and staff immediately went to work and signed Minnesota native BJ Omot and Colorado State transfer Jaylen Crocker-Johnson. Omot played at North Dakota for two years before transferring to Cal last season. He played four games with the Bears, however, was sidelined for the remainder of the season due to injury. Crocker-Johnson followed head coach Niko Medved from Colorado State last season to Minnesota this year. Playing in all 36 games for the Rams, he helped CSU to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. Crocker-Johnson averaged nine points and 4.4 rebounds in 21.5 minutes played last season. Before his CSU tenure, Crocker-Johnson played at Arkansas Little Rock where he started in 33 of 34 games as a freshman.
ABOUT THE RUNNIN' BULLDOGS
• Gardner-Webb enters its second year under head coach Jeremy Luther. In his first campaign with the Runnin' Bulldogs, Gardner-Webb went 11-20 last season and finished 5-11 (eighth) in Big South play. The Runnin' Bulldogs were voted to finish eighth in the 2025-26 Big South preseason poll.
• Following the opener against Minnesota, Gardner-Webb competes at Clemson on Nov. 7 and opens the home season hosting North Greenville on Nov. 10.
• Gardner-Webb welcomes 11 newcomers to its roster as they join five returners from last year's squad. The Runnin' Bulldogs lost their top six scorers from last year's team. Jacob Hudson saw action in 27 games, while Colin Hawkins saw action in 20. Bolstering their roster are Ace Talbert, who played at St. Francis last season, and Curtis Williams III, who was at Northwest Florida State. DJ Jefferson played at Longwood and Tennessee, and also has local ties, having played at Minnesota Prep.
ON THE DOCKET
• Minnesota hosts Alcorn State on Saturday, Nov. 8 for an 11 a.m. tip. The game will be broadcast on Peacock and available through the Gopher Radio Network with Mike Grimm and Al Nolen on KFAN 100.3 FM.
Cinematic Recap: Gophers Win Exhibition Finale
Wednesday, October 29
Highlights: Gophers 82, North Dakota 62
Saturday, October 25
Cinematic Recap: Exhibition Opener
Monday, October 20
Highlights: Gophers 80, NDSU 54
Thursday, October 16