Against a vastly overmatched opponent, the Gophers men’s basketball team showed Monday night what could be.

Cade Tyson scored 30 points, Jaylen Crocker-Johnson dominated inside with 13 points and 14 rebounds, and Minnesota rolled Gardner-Webb 87-60 in its season opener at Williams Arena.

Langston Reynolds had 14 points and nine rebounds off the bench for aggressive, athletic Minnesota.

The Gophers led 20-1 less than six minutes into the game, 37-10 just over 10 minutes later, and 53-20 at the half. Minnesota’s largest lead was 35 twice in the second half.

“Playing with poise, playing physical, take care of the ball coach emphasizes every day. If we continue to do that throughout the season, we’ll be good,” Crocker-Johnson said.

Minnesota shot 54.5%, including 62.5% in the first half, had a 46-24 points advantage in the paint, and 45-31 in rebounds. The consistently moving, cutting-heavy and unselfish offense finished with 25 assists on 30 baskets.

“A day one thing for us is the unselfishness. For as many new faces that’s really shown up right away,” said coach Niko Medved, whose team has 13 players that did not wear maroon and gold last season. “Shots still have to go in the basket, but the ball movement has been terrific, and it’s been that way at places that we’ve been.”

It was the first regular-season game for Medved, the Roseville native and former Gophers assistant hired March 24 after seven seasons at Colorado State, including NCAA tournament berths in three of the past four seasons. He previously coached at Furman for four years and one year at Drake.

“It’s real, no turning back now,” he said with a big smile. “It was great. I’m just proud of the guys’ approach and how they played tonight.”

Tyson, who had 28 and 26 points in exhibition wins over North Dakota State and North Dakota, could very well be one of the fan favorites this season with a combination of outside shooting (4-8 from deep Monday and 14-23 in three games) and getting to the hoop (10-12 on free throws Monday).

The 6-foot-7 senior starred for two years at Belmont before transferring to North Carolina last season. But he averaged just eight minutes per game with the perennial power.

“I don’t think it’s one particular thing, just the work we put in over the summer, and up until now we’re gonna continue to put in and just get me a little more confidence,” he said.

He had eight straight points for a 10-0 Minnesota lead: a driving layup after Chansey Willis Jr. dove near midcourt to grab a loose ball and feed Tyson, a layup from Isaac Asuma and free throw for a 3-point play, then a triple off an Asuma feed.

“I don’t know if Chansey’s ever gone a game without scoring a basket, but I thought the play when he dove on the floor early just kind of set the tone for how this game was gonna go,” said Medved.

Missing its first 10 shots, Gardner-Webb was just 6 for 26 in the opening 20 minutes, including coming up empty on all seven 3-point tries. Its first assist came with 31 seconds left in the half.

Julius Clark led the Runnin’ Bulldogs with 13 points. Minus their top six scorers from last year’s 11-20 team, Gardner-Webb was picked to finish eighth in the 2025-26 Big South preseason poll.

Gophers forward B.J. Omot missed the game with a leg injury. The redshirt junior from Mankato, and top scorer for North Dakota in 2022-23 and 2023-24, missed all but four games at California last season with a wrist injury.

Gardner Webb guard Ace Talbert (25) loses control of the ball while defended by Minnesota guard Chansey Willis Jr. (0), middle, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

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Wisconsin high school offensive lineman Beckett Schreiber flipped his pledge from Washington State to the Gophers on Monday.

The 6-foot-5, 280-pound senior from Madison (Wis.) Memorial High School was a part of the Cougars’ recruiting class since June, but Minnesota and Indiana offered scholarships in October. Wisconsin also was in the picture.

Schreiber is the 27th commit in Minnesota’s class for 2026 and he reinforces the offensive line after two lineman recommitted from the U this fall — Daniel McMorris of Norman, Okla.,  to Cal and and Mataalii Benjamin of Lehi, Utah, to the Utes.

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Audi Crooks scored 20 points, Addy Brown had 11 points, six rebounds and six assists, and No. 14 Iowa State beat St. Thomas 85-36 on Monday for its NCAA-leading 31st straight season-opening victory.

Iowa State, which began the season ranked in the AP preseason poll for the 14th time in program history, is coming off its 23rd NCAA Tournament appearance. The Cyclones have played in each of the last six NCAA championships, one of 15 programs in the country to do so.

Crooks entered as one of the best post players in the country after leading the Big 12 Conference with 23.4 points per game while shooting over 60% from the floor last season.

Arizona transfer Jada Williams added nine points and four rebounds for Iowa State, and freshman Reese Beaty had five points, four rebounds and four assists.

Iowa State led 43-19 at halftime behind 12 points from Crooks. St. Thomas was just 7 of 25 from the field, with four field goals and 12 points coming from Alyssa Sand.

Sand paced St. Thomas with 17 points and seven rebounds. The Tommies turned it over 20 times.

The Timberwolves flirted with disaster against the winless Nets on Monday in Brooklyn. The Wolves led the Nets by just three heading into the final frame.

But the Wolves veterans assumed control of the contest in the final frame.

Minnesota shifted to a 2-3 zone that slowed the isolation play of Nets guard Cam Thomas. 

The stops led to easy looks on the other end, as the Wolves rolled to a 125-109 victory.

Minnesota scored 34 points in a final frame in which it went 5 for 9 from 3-point range and 11 for 14 from the free-throw line.

Terance Mann #14 of the Brooklyn Nets dribbles as Donte DiVincenzo #0 of the Minnesota Timberwolves defends during the first half at Barclays Center on Nov. 03, 2025 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

Naz Reid went 3 for 3 in the fourth quarter as part of a 21-point performance. Donte DiVincenzo scored 25 points on the strength of six triples. Jaden McDaniels had 22 points while going 9 for 11 from the field and Rudy Gobert had 15 points and 12 rebounds.

That was all in addition to a triple-double for Julius Randle.

It wasn’t always pretty for Minnesota, but it was effective enough in the end.

Here are takeaways from the win that got the Wolves (4-3) back over .500.

Another slow start

Minnesota trailed Charlotte by six at the break on Saturday before dominating the second half.

While the Wolves led by six at the break Monday, it Brooklyn’s first game this season in which it didn’t trail by double digits at the half.

The Wolves were sloppy with the ball out of the gates and again weren’t impactful enough defensively. That allows teams to build momentum.

Yes, they can rally past the worst ones, but the Lakers loss last week was a reminder it won’t always work that way. Minnesota’s current practices do not represent winning ways.

Brooklyn is really bad

The Nets not only dropped to 0-7 on the season with Monday’s loss, but they’ve given up 117-plus points in each of those defeats.

Their average margin of defeat is 16.

Minnesota’s last two wins are against teams likely to finish in the bottom five in the NBA standings this season. It’s the kickoff of a stretch until Nov. 24 in which the Wolves will play Sacramento thrice, Utah twice and Washington and Phoenix once.

Minnesota will shift gears with a game against a likely playoff team Wednesday in New York against the Knicks.

Randle tallies triple double

Julius Randle took it to heart when Chris Finch noted last season that the best versions of the forward and Anthony Edwards comes when they’re flirting with triple doubles.

That means scoring, yes, but also leaning into playmaking and making a concerted effort to hit the glass.

Randle did all of that Monday, tallying his 15th career triple double. He finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 dimes, the last of which came on a feed to Naz Reid for a corner triple just prior to checking out of the contest with three minutes to play.

Randle’s consistent offensive production thus far this season rivals that of an All-NBA player.

Edwards cleared for contact

Edwards has been cleared for contact just eight days after suffering his hamstring strain. He missed Monday’s game in Brooklyn, and it may be a surprise if he played Wednesday against the Knicks, but the All-NBA guard’s return to action looks closer than the two-week absence originally reported nationally.

Minnesota continues to struggle to deliver good basketball in his absence.

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