Gophers Travels to Cincinnati Monday Night - University of Minnesota Athletics

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Radio: KFAN FM 100.3 (Mike Grimm)
Sirius Radio: 263

SERIES INFORMATION*
All-Time Series: Cincinnati leads, 2-3
Minnesota at Cincinnati: 1-2
Medved vs. Cincinnati: First Meeting
Last Meeting: March 21, 2006 (Cincy win, 76-62)
* excludes vacated games

STARTING FIVE
• The University of Minnesota men's basketball team travels to Cincinnati on Monday at 6 p.m. CT. The game also marks Cincinnati's annual Twyman-Stokes Classic, honoring former UC Bearcat and Cincinnati Royal legend Jack Twyman and his lifelong teammate Maurice Stokes.
• Both Minnesota and Cincinnati are 2-0 this season, winning both games in the opening week of play. The Golden Gophers earned an 85-50 win over North Dakota on Nov. 2 and followed with a 76-62 win over in-state foe St. Thomas Friday night. Cincinnati earned wins over American, 79-53, on Nov. 2, and Green Bay, 81-64, on Nov. 5. Both programs are also led by alums in Minnesota head coach Niko Medved and Cincinnati's coach, Jerrod Calhoun.
• Minnesota is playing its first of three Big 12 opponents Monday when it travels to Cincinnati. The Gophers are also set to play Big 12 members Oklahoma State and Utah at the Charleston Classic, Nov. 20-22. Minnesota's last Big 12 opponent played came in the College Basketball Crown when the Gophers fell to Baylor, 67-48, to end the 2025-26 campaign. Historically, Minnesota is 56-39 against current Big 12 members.
• The Cincinnati game also marks the first P4 nonconference game of the year for Minnesota. Along with the three Big 12 opponents, the Gophers also play Cal and SMU from the ACC this year. It marks Minnesota's most P4 nonconference opponents since 2019.
• Through the first week of play, Isaac Asuma leads the team with 16.5 points per game, including a career-high 20 points. Against North Dakota, Asuma had 13 points, six rebounds, six assists.

MINNESOTA'S LAST ACTION
• Isaac Asuma scored 14 of his career-high 20 points in the first half, as Minnesota (2-0) earned a 76-62 win over St. Thomas (MN) Friday night. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson scored 11 of his 16 points and seven of his 10 rebounds in the second half to earn a double-double.
• It was the first meeting between the schools since Dec. 11, 1934, as Gophers improved to 7-1 all-time against the Tommies and 1-0 since they became Division 1. Announced attendance was 10,604.
• Nolan Groves and Grayson Grove also scored double digits in the win. Groves provided a career-high night in points (15), field goals made (4) and attempted (10), three-pointers made (3) and attempted (8) and free throws made (4) and attempted (6). Grove added a career-high nine rebounds and made four free throws in a career-high five attempts.
• Cedric Tomes scored his first collegiate points when he scored a layup in the first half.

CROCKER-JOHNSON CLOSING IN ON 1,000
• Senior forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson is closing in on 1,000 career points. Now in his second year at Minnesota, Crocker-Johnson has 987 points entering the Cincinnati game.
• As a freshman at Arkansas Little Rock, he had 309 points, while at Colorado State he had 325. Despite only playing 24 games as a Gopher last year, Crocker-Johnson had 322 points and now has 31 this season.

ALL-TIME SERIES
• Minnesota and Cincinnati will play in a home-and-home series over the next two years. The Bearcats host the Gophers on Monday and are scheduled to travel to the Barn in the 2027-28 campaign. The future home date is to be determined.
• The Gophers and Bearcats have faced each other five times in school history, excluding vacated games. The November matchup will be the first contest between the two institutions since 2006. Minnesota holds a 2-3 record against Cincinnati dating back to 1983, and this will be the fourth time it travels to Cincinnati.

Series History
1983   2/16   H   W   49-46
1984   2/18   A   W   65-61
1989   11/25   A   L   64-66
1990   12/20   H   L   64-72
1994   12/13   vacated
1995   12/13   vacated
1997   12/17   vacated
1998   12/16   vacated
2006   3/21   A   L   62-76

ABOUT CINCINNATI
• Cincinnati earned a pair of wins last week over American and Green Bay to open first-year head coach Jerrod Calhoun's Bearcat tenure. Cincinnati also competed in three exhibitions, winning over Ohio State (79-68) and Oakland (97-58) and losing to Illinois (96-105).
• The Bearcats welcome 14 newcomers to the program, with the lone returner fifth-year Grant Darbyshire. Cincinnati is one of just seven teams nationally to return zero points from a season ago. A veteran group, the Bearcats have four fifth-year players, including MJ Collins Jr., who averages 12 points. Collegiately, Collins Jr. has played in 134 career games and played for Calhoun at Utah State, where he earned All-Mountain West Second Team. Collins Jr. is one of four players who followed Calhoun from Utah State to Cincinnati, along with Elijah Perryman, Adlan Elamin and David Iweze.
• Wake Forest transfer and senior Myles Colvin had 31 points against Green Bay. Prior to playing at Wake Forest, he also played at Purdue. He averages a team-best 17 points and 7 rebounds through two games. Akai Fleming averages 9 points and six rebounds.
• Through two games this season, the Bearcats are averaging 80 points per game and allowing 58.5. They are shooting 44.9 percent from the field, including a 31 percent clip from three. Cincinnati is averaging 39 rebounds and has 24 steals already this season.

SPREADING THE LOVE
• Minnesota had 29 assists on 34 makes in the season opener vs. North Dakota and 18 assists on 23 makes vs. St. Thomas. This trend continues from Medved's team a year ago when the 2025-26 Gopher edition led the nation in assist percentage at 71 percent.
• The Gophers had assists from nine of 11 players who saw the court in the season opener. On Friday vs. St. Thomas, Kyan Evans led the way with four assists, while Grayson Grove, Bobby Durkin and Jaylen Crocker-Johnson had three. In fact, of the nine players that saw action Friday, eight added an assist.
• Asuma's assist range went from 67 as a freshman to 123 last year as a sophomore.

MAKE IT RAIN
• The 2025-26 Golden Gopher squad earned a school record of 278 three-pointers, breaking the previous record of 272 set in the 2013-14 season. Minnesota looks to continue that trend in the 2026-27 season, opening the year with 10 threes in the North Dakota win and 11 vs. St. Thomas.
• Bobby Durkin opened his senior campaign going 4-of-5 from the three-point range against North Dakota. Last year, Durkin hit 80 threes, which ranked fourth in school history for threes in a single season.
• Isaac Asuma had four threes vs. St. Thomas, while Nolan Groves followed with three. Of the seven players who attempted a three Friday night, five made one.

ON THE DOCKET
• Minnesota returns to the Barn on Thursday, Nov. 12, when it hosts Southern at 7 p.m. The game will stream on B1G+, and Mike Grimm and Al Nolen will call it on KTLK 103.5 FM.

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Players Mentioned

Isaac Asuma

Jaylen Crocker-Johnson

Bobby Durkin

Kyan Evans

Grayson Grove

Nolan Groves

Cedric Tomes