The Niko Medved era is about to start for Minnesota.
The Golden Gophers and their new head coach will tip off their season when they take on Gardner-Webb on Nov. 3 in Minneapolis.
Minnesota hired Medved from Colorado State to try to bolster its program after the end of last season. The Golden Gophers went 15-17 in 2024-25 under former coach Ben Johnson and missed the NCAA Tournament for the sixth year in a row.
Now, Medved hopes to bring Minnesota the same success that he delivered at Colorado State. The Rams reached the NCAA Tournament in three of the previous four years.
“I’ve said it over and over again, but I just really love them as human beings,” Medved said when asked about his early impressions of his new team. “I think their approach so far has been terrific. They’ve come in every day, they’ve been really, really coachable, tried to do what we’ve asked them to do. Just the way they’ve gone about their business every day really excites me, and I think because of that, this group is going to continue to get better.”
Gardner-Webb also is looking to bounce back from a rough season after finishing 11-20 a season ago. The Runnin’ Bulldogs finished 5-11 in the Big South Conference and will try to take a step forward in coach Jeremy Luther’s second season.
One reason for optimism for Gardner-Webb is the arrival of Ace Talbert, who joined the program as a transfer from St. Francis. Talbert averaged 8.6 points and shot 38.1 percent from beyond the arc in 34 games (26 starts) for St. Francis over the past two seasons.
Luther said Talbert can be a leader on a team that includes many other new faces.
“I like our roster,” Luther said at Big South media day. “I think by January, February, we’ve got a chance to be really good. … I’ve seen what it takes to win this league, and I think we’re close.”
Medved also is looking to mold a team filled with new players.
Minnesota features transfers such as Langston Reynolds (Northern Colorado), Bobby Durkin (Davidson) and Chansey Willis Jr. (Western Michigan), all of whom could see significant playing time. The same is true for Cade Tyson, who shined at Belmont and struggled at North Carolina and now will play for his third program.
-Field Level Media
