Inside the Hall: 2026-27 Big Ten offseason at a glance: Minnesota Golden Gophers

[BleedGopher]

Per Ian:

What to like about Minnesota​

In this age of college basketball, a good amount of continuity can be hard to find. Minnesota has some continuity going into this season and it’s in the right spots.

The Golden Gophers retain three players who averaged at least 10 points per game last season in Asuma, Crocker-Johnson and Durkin. They also bring back their top two bench options, Grove and Shinholster, based on minutes played.

This was a team that was top-heavy and relied on its starters last season. That looks to be the case once again. This time around, however, three bona fide starters will have a year of Big Ten experience under their belt. They have tasted the postseason as well, playing in the Big Ten Tournament and the Crown in 2025.

Not to mention, a head coach with a season in the Big Ten under his belt can help as well.

What to question about Minnesota​

Where is the production going to come from?

Tyson, an All-Big Ten honorable mention, averaged the sixth-most points per game in the conference last year at 19.6. Reynolds averaged 11.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. The two accounted for 45.1 percent of Minnesota’s total points last year. Another 45.4 percent came from Asuma, Crocker-Johnson and Grove.

​

Five players accounted for over 90 percent of the team’s points. Now, 45 percent of that production is gone.

The bench did not play much last year, especially in Big Ten play. Minnesota’s moves this offseason may cause that to happen once more.

Minnesota’s five incoming transfers all come from power-conference programs, but did not play major roles on their previous teams. All five averaged below 20 minutes and five points per game. It is ranked 74th nationally among transfer classes.

If Minnesota wants to succeed, its bench pieces and transfers must significantly improve upon their previous seasons. Replacing Tyson and Reynolds is a tall task. Minnesota was still 15-18 with Tyson and Reynolds. If the Golden Gophers want to improve, their new pieces need to do more than replace.

Minnesota’s outlook for the 2026-27 season​

Here’s the Minnesota Big Ten schedule for next season:

Home: Illinois, Indiana, Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Washington

Away: Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, Nebraska, Rutgers, UCLA, USC

Home/Away: Michigan, Northwestern, Wisconsin

Minnesota showed signs of new life in Medved’s first year. The Gophers showed they can beat top Big Ten teams. They showed they can win at home. They played in a postseason tournament.

Moving up into the next tier of the Big Ten will still be a tall task.

​

The amount of proven talent on this team is not on par with other mid- to high-level Big Ten programs. That is not to say Medved cannot coach them to success or unproven talent can never blossom. It is to say that Minnesota is behind the proverbial eight ball compared to many of its Big Ten counterparts.

Rebuilding a program after a coaching change takes time. Medved can get the Gophers to where they want to be. This year just might not be the year to do it.

2026-27 Big Ten offseason at a glance: Minnesota Golden Gophers

In this age of college basketball, a good amount of continuity can be hard to find. Minnesota has some continuity going into this season and it's in the right spots.

www.insidethehall.com

Go Gophers!!

 

[Drake University Gopher]

I appreciate the articles about us, but I still can’t take any of them seriously if they don’t mention that it was ravaged by injuries. Hard not to rely on your starters when the original starters are done for the season and half the bench is gone too…

 

[60's Guy]

Having competent substitutes is the norm. Injuries for the Gophers didn't allow that and having depth that could tread water would have been helpful but could any of the injured players have contributed that?
I liked Vaihola as a guy who set screens, played smart, skillfully took up space....a bunch of intangibles. He would of helped. Maybe if none of the depth got hurt we would of found another win or two.
They all dropped down in competition or nobody is interested so far.

 

[bga1]

I appreciate the articles about us, but I still can’t take any of them seriously if they don’t mention that it was ravaged by injuries. Hard not to rely on your starters when the original starters are done for the season and half the bench is gone too…

Yep. This roster has much more size, shooting and depth than last year's yet last year we still got the 8 conference wins. I just think that has to be taken into account going into the coming year. We will be solid- despite the lack of hype about the individual players.

 

[Drake University Gopher]

Beyond a doubt in my mind any of these players could have competently (if not key cog in Willis/Vaihola) contributed outside of Turner. Those 4 in particular could dominate at a lower level and potentially cash in next season again (I forget what year they’re in but maybe even continue abroad if they’re out of eligibility, if that even exists anymore).

Niko got quite a bit out of some of the players I never would have expected coming into the season. Omot is interesting because he was never healthy so couldn’t imagine a bigger school taking a chance on him anyways.

 

[bga1]

Just for perspective I went back to what Inside the Hall said about the Gophers last year (June 4th 2025). They thought we had a lousy roster last year ("bottom tier") and that the goal would be to stay out of the basement -but that wasn't likely. Yet we got 8 wins.

Here is their prediction:

Minnesota’s outlook for the 2025-26 season​

Coming in at 16th in the Big Ten and No. 78 in Bart Torvik’s preseason projections, Minnesota has a bottom-tier roster, at least on paper. However, good coaching can make a difference, and Medved can plug his system in from the get-go to stay out of the Big Ten’s basement.

It’s also not likely that it happens. Medved has never posted a record above .500 in his first season at any of his three prior stops and the Golden Gophers likely don’t have enough talent on the roster to make up for Medved’s Big Ten learning curve.

 

[gopherbadgerman]

Just for perspective I went back to what Inside the Hall said about the Gophers last year (June 4th 2025). They thought we had a lousy roster last year ("bottom tier") and that the goal would be to stay out of the basement -but that wasn't likely. Yet we got 8 wins.

Here is their prediction:

Minnesota’s outlook for the 2025-26 season​

Coming in at 16th in the Big Ten and No. 78 in Bart Torvik’s preseason projections, Minnesota has a bottom-tier roster, at least on paper. However, good coaching can make a difference, and Medved can plug his system in from the get-go to stay out of the Big Ten’s basement.

It’s also not likely that it happens. Medved has never posted a record above .500 in his first season at any of his three prior stops and the Golden Gophers likely don’t have enough talent on the roster to make up for Medved’s Big Ten learning curve.

He was fairly accurate with his assesment last year, no?

Not a lot of talent but good coaching.

 

[GopherBlood777]

Per Ian:

What to like about Minnesota​

In this age of college basketball, a good amount of continuity can be hard to find. Minnesota has some continuity going into this season and it’s in the right spots.

The Golden Gophers retain three players who averaged at least 10 points per game last season in Asuma, Crocker-Johnson and Durkin. They also bring back their top two bench options, Grove and Shinholster, based on minutes played.

This was a team that was top-heavy and relied on its starters last season. That looks to be the case once again. This time around, however, three bona fide starters will have a year of Big Ten experience under their belt. They have tasted the postseason as well, playing in the Big Ten Tournament and the Crown in 2025.

Not to mention, a head coach with a season in the Big Ten under his belt can help as well.

What to question about Minnesota​

Where is the production going to come from?

Tyson, an All-Big Ten honorable mention, averaged the sixth-most points per game in the conference last year at 19.6. Reynolds averaged 11.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. The two accounted for 45.1 percent of Minnesota’s total points last year. Another 45.4 percent came from Asuma, Crocker-Johnson and Grove.

​

Five players accounted for over 90 percent of the team’s points. Now, 45 percent of that production is gone.

The bench did not play much last year, especially in Big Ten play. Minnesota’s moves this offseason may cause that to happen once more.

Minnesota’s five incoming transfers all come from power-conference programs, but did not play major roles on their previous teams. All five averaged below 20 minutes and five points per game. It is ranked 74th nationally among transfer classes.

If Minnesota wants to succeed, its bench pieces and transfers must significantly improve upon their previous seasons. Replacing Tyson and Reynolds is a tall task. Minnesota was still 15-18 with Tyson and Reynolds. If the Golden Gophers want to improve, their new pieces need to do more than replace.

Minnesota’s outlook for the 2026-27 season​

Here’s the Minnesota Big Ten schedule for next season:

Home: Illinois, Indiana, Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Washington

Away: Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, Nebraska, Rutgers, UCLA, USC

Home/Away: Michigan, Northwestern, Wisconsin

Minnesota showed signs of new life in Medved’s first year. The Gophers showed they can beat top Big Ten teams. They showed they can win at home. They played in a postseason tournament.

Moving up into the next tier of the Big Ten will still be a tall task.

​

The amount of proven talent on this team is not on par with other mid- to high-level Big Ten programs. That is not to say Medved cannot coach them to success or unproven talent can never blossom. It is to say that Minnesota is behind the proverbial eight ball compared to many of its Big Ten counterparts.

Rebuilding a program after a coaching change takes time. Medved can get the Gophers to where they want to be. This year just might not be the year to do it.

2026-27 Big Ten offseason at a glance: Minnesota Golden Gophers

In this age of college basketball, a good amount of continuity can be hard to find. Minnesota has some continuity going into this season and it's in the right spots.

www.insidethehall.com

Go Gophers!!

"The bench did not play much last year", yeah because our only playable reserve was a true freshman ~3 star recruit. How do you complete this entire without mentioning how the team was completely decimated by season ending injuries?

 

[The Deliberate Stranger]

Having competent substitutes is the norm. Injuries for the Gophers didn't allow that and having depth that could tread water would have been helpful but could any of the injured players have contributed that?
I liked Vaihola as a guy who set screens, played smart, skillfully took up space....a bunch of intangibles. He would of helped. Maybe if none of the depth got hurt we would of found another win or two.
They all dropped down in competition or nobody is interested so far.
View attachment 44434

I think Willis and Omot would have been serviceable as well. Willis was all MAC and Omot was playing well at Cal before getting hurt and an all conference guy at UND, certainly they would have grown with the rest of the group as they
progressed through the year. Just having 2-3 more
competent bodies for defense probably puts us over against USC, Wisconsin x2, Ohio State, Penn State and Maryland

 

[bga1]

He was fairly accurate with his assesment last year, no?

Not a lot of talent but good coaching.

He said we would not be likely to escape the basement. That was his prediction and it was not accurate. It may not have been likely- but it happened. My contention is that this squad is better and they are offering the same dismal outlook for the same reason. I think it is a skin deep analysis as many of these early prognostications are. Yes other teams have brought in guys that have scored more before than our guys. However, we brought back a good core (crucial to the Medved system) and we added ingredients that were missing last year.

 

[gopherbadgerman]

He said we would not be likely to escape the basement. That was his prediction and it was not accurate. It may not have been likely- but it happened. My contention is that this squad is better and they are offering the same dismal outlook for the same reason. I think it is a skin deep analysis as many of these early prognostications are. Yes other teams have brought in guys that have scored more before than our guys. However, we brought back a good core (crucial to the Medved system) and we added ingredients that were missing last year.

So what are you thinking? 10 big ten wins or so?