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Gophers look to future after Big Ten Tournament loss to Rutgers
The Gophers men's basketball season is over after a 72-67 loss to Rutgers Wednesday in the Big Ten Tournament. Minnesota ends the season 15-17 overall. After, coach Niko Medved and players Isaac Asuma, Bobby Durkin and Cade Tyson reflected on the season.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The University of Minnesota men’s basketball season came to a close Wednesday night in a 72-67 loss to Rutgers in the Big Ten Tournament.
Gophers' season ends
What we know:
Back on Feb. 21, the Gophers beat the Scarlet Knights 80-61 at Williams Arena. Minnesota’s season ends with a 15-17 record, including an 8-12 mark in Big Ten play. After the game, players and coach Niko Medved talked more about the future of the program and playing through adversity, rather than the sudden end of the season.
The Gophers are unlikely to receive a postseason invitation with a below .500 record. Even if they do, they may not accept it with such a short-handed roster due to several injuries.
"We want to win as many games as we can but at the end of the day, I want our fans and the people that follow us to be more excited about our program and where it’s going than they were when the season started. I think these guys really did that," Medved said. "Tonight stinks, but I feel really good about the future of Gopher basketball."
Overcoming adversity
Why you should care:
Games became tougher for the Gophers to win as the injuries mounted. B.J. Omot had a leg injury that he never fully recovered from, and missed the entire season. Chance Stevens missed the entire season due to an undisclosed illness. Starting guard Chancey Willis suffered a broken foot just eight games in, and missed the rest of the season. Starting center Robert Vaihola suffered a knee injury early, and had season-ending surgery. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson tried to play through a foot injury until it sidelined him the back half of the season. Nehemiah Turner played the early portion of the season, then left the program for undisclosed reasons.
By the back half of the Big Ten schedule, the Gophers were down to Bobby Durkin, Cade Tyson, Langston Reynolds, Isaac Asuma and Grayson Grove starting, and playing 35-plus minutes a game. Only freshman guard Kai Shinholster played off the bench, and sparingly.
They still managed to end the season winning four of their last six games.
"It’s tough right now, I feel like we left some out there, but I’m so grateful to play with this group of guys. To go through what we’ve been through this season and have everyone so committed to the team, I was really grateful for this experience," Durkin said.
"It’s just tough, all these guys put a ton into this entire season. To go out this way, it just sucks. It hurts for us, I hurt for other guys," Asuma said.
Gophers offseason starts
What's next:
Minnesota is now in offseason mode, and we’ll soon get a vision for what the roster will look like next year. Reynolds and Tyson are among five players who are out of eligibility, and Medved will have at least six roster spots with Turner leaving the team.
In a perfect world, the core of Asuma, Durkin, Crocker-Johnson, Omot and Shinholster returns. Three freshmen join the team, including Minnesotans Nolen Anderson and Cedric Tomes. What Medved adds in the transfer portal, and if there are any unexpected departures, will have a lot do with the outlook for the Gophers.