University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, October 23
Omaha, NE
7:30 PM
University of Minnesota
0-0,0-0Big Ten
86
at
89
Creighton
0-0,0-0Big East
| Team | 1 | 2 | OT 1 | OT 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 31 | 36 | 9 | 10 | 86 |
| Creighton | 44 | 23 | 9 | 13 | 89 |
Photo by: Brad Rempel
10/23/2026 10:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Isaac Asuma scored 32 points, with 30 coming after halftime, but Minnesota's rally from an 18-point deficit early in the second half fell short, and Creighton outlasted the Gophers 89-86 in double overtime in an exhibition game at CHI Health Center Omaha.
Minnesota trailed 49-31 with 18:28 remaining in regulation, but Asuma scored 14 second-half points to help send the game to OT, and then added 16 points in the two OT periods. For the game, he was 11 of 22 from the field, including 4 of 9 from 3-point range, and 6 of 7 at the free throw line. He added five rebounds, four blocked shots and a pair of assists in 42 minutes. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, Kai Shinholster had 13 points and 11 boards, and Bobby Durkin had 12 points and seven rebounds.
Creighton, which defeated No. 18/14 Iowa State, 83-80, in an exhibition last Sunday, was led by Wes Enis with 20 points, while Austin Swartz had 18, and B.J. Davis had 18 points and eight boards. Nolan Groves added six points and eight rebounds for the Gophers, while Kyan Evans had six points, four rebounds, and three assists, all in the first half. Minnesota made 31 of 70 (.443) field goals, including 11 3-pointers, but was just 13 of 28 (.464) at the line and committed 20 turnovers.
Creighton opened the game with an 11-0 run, making 3 of 4 3-pointers in the opening three minutes, forcing Niko Medved to call a timeout. Crocker-Johnson got the Gophers going with a 3-pointer from the top of the key, but Swartz's third trey of the first five minutes gave the Jays a 14-3 lead.
The Gophers fought back with a quick 9-0 run, getting layups from Evans, Shinholster, and Groves, and a 3-pointer by Durkin to pull within 14-12 at the 13:39 mark. The Gophers stayed within two points on buckets from Crocker-Johnson and Shinholster, but a 6-0 Jays run made it 24-16 midway through the half.
Crocker-Johnson's second 3-pointer cut it to 24-19, but Swartz hit his fourth trifecta of the first half and added a layup to stretch the Jays' advantage to 29-19 with 7:48 left. Evans scored four-straight for Minnesota to trim the lead to six, and Durkin added two more 3-pointers, but CU extended its halftime lead to 13 at 44-31.
Minnesota struggled with 11 first-half turnovers, and Creighton turned them into a 10-2 edge in points in the paint, and the Jays had a 15-0 advantage in fastbreak points. Durkin led the Gophers with nine points, and Crocker-Johnson added eight. Minnesota was 12 of 30 (.400) from the field, including 5 of 17 (.294) from 3-point range, while CU made 15 of 32 (.469) field goals, 7 of 18 (389) from distance, and 7 of 10 at the line.
Creighton scored the first five points of the second half to extend its lead to 49-31, but the Gophers responded with a 10-0 run, highlighted by an Asuma layup, a Durkin dunk, and a 3-pointer from Nolan Groves to cut it to 49-41 at the 15:37 mark. The Jays ended the run with a 4-0 run, but an Asuma 3-pointer cut it to 53-44. Crocker-Johnson's third 3-pointer and a layup pulled Minnesota within six at 55-49, and Coach Medved called timeout with 9:33 left.
Asuma went on a personal 8-0 run with a three-point play, a 3-pointer, and a layup to tie the score at 61-61 with 4:40 remaining. The teams traded some free throws, and the Jays led 64-63 with 2:00 left, but a drive to the right for a layup by Shinholster gave the Gophers their first lead of the game at 65-64 with 1:19 left, and a similar drive made it 67-65 with :35.5 seconds left. Creighton tied the score with a pair of FTs, and Shinholster once again drove to the rim, but his attempt hit off the back of the rim and the game went to overtime.
Overtime saw lots of free throws back and forth, with neither team leading by more than two until Groves hit the second of two FTs with :20.6 left put the Gophers up 76-73. But Enis hit a 3-pointer to tie the score, and Asuma's drive to the lane at the other end was stopped to send the game to a second OT period.
Asuma opened the scoring in the second OT with pretty much the shot he had been hoping to make to end the first overtime. The Jays countered with a 5-0 run for an 81-78 lead, but Asuma made a three to tie the score with 3:42 on the clock. Creighton scored twice for an 85-81 lead with 2:10 left, and stretched it to 87-81 with just :21 seconds left. But Asuma made a 3-pointer with :15.9 and another deep shot with :05 left that looked like a three but they said his foot was on the line. CU added two free throws to make it 89-86, and Asuma's attempt to send it to a third OT was off the mark.
Minnesota will now have a little more than a week to prepare for its season-opener versus North Dakota on Monday, Nov. 2. Tipoff from The Barn by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is slated for 8:00 p.m., and the game will be streamed on B1G+.
"I think both teams got a lot out of this," head coach Niko Medved said. "Obviously you're going on the road against a really good team. We faced some adversity right away and got down big and our starting point guard got hurt. "We challenged the guys at halftime and I really loved the way we responded and showed a lot of toughness. Our defense really picked up and we have several changes down the stretch. We couldn't make a free throw when we needed to and just too many costly turnovers. We have a little more than a week and we got exactly what we needed out of this. We learned a lot about ourselves tonight."
Minnesota trailed 49-31 with 18:28 remaining in regulation, but Asuma scored 14 second-half points to help send the game to OT, and then added 16 points in the two OT periods. For the game, he was 11 of 22 from the field, including 4 of 9 from 3-point range, and 6 of 7 at the free throw line. He added five rebounds, four blocked shots and a pair of assists in 42 minutes. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, Kai Shinholster had 13 points and 11 boards, and Bobby Durkin had 12 points and seven rebounds.
Creighton, which defeated No. 18/14 Iowa State, 83-80, in an exhibition last Sunday, was led by Wes Enis with 20 points, while Austin Swartz had 18, and B.J. Davis had 18 points and eight boards. Nolan Groves added six points and eight rebounds for the Gophers, while Kyan Evans had six points, four rebounds, and three assists, all in the first half. Minnesota made 31 of 70 (.443) field goals, including 11 3-pointers, but was just 13 of 28 (.464) at the line and committed 20 turnovers.
Creighton opened the game with an 11-0 run, making 3 of 4 3-pointers in the opening three minutes, forcing Niko Medved to call a timeout. Crocker-Johnson got the Gophers going with a 3-pointer from the top of the key, but Swartz's third trey of the first five minutes gave the Jays a 14-3 lead.
The Gophers fought back with a quick 9-0 run, getting layups from Evans, Shinholster, and Groves, and a 3-pointer by Durkin to pull within 14-12 at the 13:39 mark. The Gophers stayed within two points on buckets from Crocker-Johnson and Shinholster, but a 6-0 Jays run made it 24-16 midway through the half.
Crocker-Johnson's second 3-pointer cut it to 24-19, but Swartz hit his fourth trifecta of the first half and added a layup to stretch the Jays' advantage to 29-19 with 7:48 left. Evans scored four-straight for Minnesota to trim the lead to six, and Durkin added two more 3-pointers, but CU extended its halftime lead to 13 at 44-31.
Minnesota struggled with 11 first-half turnovers, and Creighton turned them into a 10-2 edge in points in the paint, and the Jays had a 15-0 advantage in fastbreak points. Durkin led the Gophers with nine points, and Crocker-Johnson added eight. Minnesota was 12 of 30 (.400) from the field, including 5 of 17 (.294) from 3-point range, while CU made 15 of 32 (.469) field goals, 7 of 18 (389) from distance, and 7 of 10 at the line.
Creighton scored the first five points of the second half to extend its lead to 49-31, but the Gophers responded with a 10-0 run, highlighted by an Asuma layup, a Durkin dunk, and a 3-pointer from Nolan Groves to cut it to 49-41 at the 15:37 mark. The Jays ended the run with a 4-0 run, but an Asuma 3-pointer cut it to 53-44. Crocker-Johnson's third 3-pointer and a layup pulled Minnesota within six at 55-49, and Coach Medved called timeout with 9:33 left.
Asuma went on a personal 8-0 run with a three-point play, a 3-pointer, and a layup to tie the score at 61-61 with 4:40 remaining. The teams traded some free throws, and the Jays led 64-63 with 2:00 left, but a drive to the right for a layup by Shinholster gave the Gophers their first lead of the game at 65-64 with 1:19 left, and a similar drive made it 67-65 with :35.5 seconds left. Creighton tied the score with a pair of FTs, and Shinholster once again drove to the rim, but his attempt hit off the back of the rim and the game went to overtime.
Overtime saw lots of free throws back and forth, with neither team leading by more than two until Groves hit the second of two FTs with :20.6 left put the Gophers up 76-73. But Enis hit a 3-pointer to tie the score, and Asuma's drive to the lane at the other end was stopped to send the game to a second OT period.
Asuma opened the scoring in the second OT with pretty much the shot he had been hoping to make to end the first overtime. The Jays countered with a 5-0 run for an 81-78 lead, but Asuma made a three to tie the score with 3:42 on the clock. Creighton scored twice for an 85-81 lead with 2:10 left, and stretched it to 87-81 with just :21 seconds left. But Asuma made a 3-pointer with :15.9 and another deep shot with :05 left that looked like a three but they said his foot was on the line. CU added two free throws to make it 89-86, and Asuma's attempt to send it to a third OT was off the mark.
Minnesota will now have a little more than a week to prepare for its season-opener versus North Dakota on Monday, Nov. 2. Tipoff from The Barn by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is slated for 8:00 p.m., and the game will be streamed on B1G+.
"I think both teams got a lot out of this," head coach Niko Medved said. "Obviously you're going on the road against a really good team. We faced some adversity right away and got down big and our starting point guard got hurt. "We challenged the guys at halftime and I really loved the way we responded and showed a lot of toughness. Our defense really picked up and we have several changes down the stretch. We couldn't make a free throw when we needed to and just too many costly turnovers. We have a little more than a week and we got exactly what we needed out of this. We learned a lot about ourselves tonight."
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballTeam Stats
MINN
CU
FG%
.443
.382
3FG%
.306
.263
FT%
.464
.750
RB
58
38
TO
20
8
STL
5
11
Game Leaders
Pts
32
FGM
11
3FGM
4
FTM
6
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Friday, October 16
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