The Gophers’ first men’s basketball meeting with St. Thomas in nearly a century came with a twist nobody could have drawn up on a normal scouting report: one player in street clothes because of a court ruling, and another player in the exact same situation somehow cleared to suit up because of a different one.
That was the strange backdrop Friday night at the Barn, where Minnesota beat St. Thomas 76-62 and the legal mess around college eligibility hung over the game almost as much as the basketball itself.
“He just picked the wrong case,” Gophers coach Niko Medved said of Cade Tyson. “If he had picked another case, he probably would have played, if we’re being honest.”
Tyson and Kendall Blue were mirror images on opposite benches. Both graduated high school in 2022.
Both were chasing one more season under the NCAA’s new “five-in-five” eligibility rule. Only one of them got to play.
Medved left open the possibility that Tyson’s situation is not finished, suggesting more legal action could still be on the table if Tyson and his representatives choose to keep pushing.
The whole thing has turned into one more reminder of how messy college sports has become. Teams are playing games while waiting on court decisions that can change rosters overnight, and nobody knows whether those rulings will hold or get flipped later.
“None of us have been in this situation,” St. Thomas coach Johnny Tauer said, “but we all have dealt with curveballs that happen. You just adapt.”
Medved has been blunt about what this kind of uncertainty can do to a season. He said these lawsuits will have “major ramifications” on conference races and NCAA tournament résumés.
“I can’t even imagine what it could look like on the NCAA Tournament bubble,” he said recently. “There are teams out there right now who, [depending on] a decision that some local judge makes, could turn them into a Top 15 team or maybe not make the tournament. It’s awful for the sport.”
Friday offered a clean example of that split reality. Tyson is the kind of player who changes Minnesota’s outlook in a real way; without him, the Gophers are simply a different team.
Blue’s return after a one-year stop at Nebraska does the same for St. Thomas, boosting the Tommies’ chances of winning the Summit League and reaching their first NCAA tournament as a Division I program.
St. Thomas was picked second in the Summit League preseason poll, and Blue was named to the preseason first team.
For all the noise around eligibility, the game itself still delivered the kind of atmosphere the matchup had promised. The long-awaited I-94 showdown gave the local basketball scene a night to remember, and Minnesota finished it with a late push that let Medved exhale.
The game carried a different feel than a typical nonconference date. The schools sit just four miles apart, but the gap in resources is enormous, which leaves the Gophers in a no-win kind of spot.
Beat St. Thomas, and people barely notice.
Lose, and the jokes start flying.
Medved didn’t call it a one-and-done series, but he also made clear this won’t become an annual fixture, in part because the win doesn’t really help Minnesota’s tournament résumé under college basketball’s math.
That’s the bind for high-major programs when they build nonconference schedules. They usually want other high-majors or easy wins.
St. Thomas is neither.
It’s a strong mid-major program, which makes it a risky opponent: a loss hurts pride and can ding a résumé, especially against a team just down the road.
Minnesota avoided that nightmare. The only loss of the night came earlier, in court, when Tyson was left on the sideline.
In Other News...
Gophers Let St. Thomas Make This Rivalry Opener Uncomfortable
The first regular-season meeting between Minnesota and St. Thomas in nearly a century had the feel of a rivalry game from the start, even if the programs are still writing the first real chapters of this one. Hosting the Tommies, the Gophers had to navigate a game that was tighter than the matchup on paper suggested, with Isaac Asuma providing the biggest scoring punch and Minnesota leaning on efficient work at the line to stay in control.
St. Thomas made things uncomfortable with a second-half push, turning what looked like a straightforward home win into something the Gophers had to manage possession by possession. Minnesota ultimately finished off a 76-62 victory, but the Tommies showed enough resistance to make this opener feel more like a rivalry than a novelty, and it offered a reminder that the next time these two meet, the early edge will not come easily. [Read more 🡒]
Gophers Face One Brutal Test If They Want To Shock UCLA
Minnesota gets an early spotlight Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium, where the Gophers will try to rebound from an overtime loss to Indiana against an undefeated UCLA team that has looked every bit like a contender. The matchup comes at 11 a.m. on FOX, with KFXN-100.3 FM carrying the radio call, and it sets up as a stiff challenge for a Minnesota group sitting at 5-3 and still searching for steadier offensive footing.
The problem is the Bruins bring the kind of defense that can make every possession feel like a test, especially for a Gophers offense that has had trouble finding rhythm against top competition. Minnesota is also dealing with some injury concerns at key spots, which only adds to the pressure on a Saturday that already asks a lot of the home team. If the Gophers are going to spring an upset, they will have to find answers quickly and keep the game from turning into the kind of field-position grind UCLA tends to win. [Read more 🡒]
Gophers Let Local Rival Hang Around Before Finally Pulling Away
Minnesota had enough early to make this one look routine for a while at The Barn, building a lead as large as 21 points in the first half against St. Thomas in the first meeting between the in-state programs since the Tommies moved to Division I in 2021-22. The Gophers eventually finished off a 76-62 win, but the game had the feel of a local rivalry that still needs a little seasoning before it settles into a familiar rhythm.
St. Thomas did not go quietly, which is part of what made the second half worth watching for Minnesota fans. The Tommies chipped away enough to turn a comfortable afternoon into something more tense than expected before the Gophers steadied themselves and closed it out, a reminder that even a matchup that starts with a lopsided score can still carry some edge when the opponent is just down the road. [Read more 🡒]