The 2026–27 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2026–27 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gophers, led by second-year head coach Niko Medved, played their home games at The Barn in Minneapolis, Minnesota as members of the Big Ten Conference.

Previous season The Gophers finished the 2025–26 season 15–18, 8–12 in Big Ten play to finish in 11th place. As the No. 11 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they lost to Rutgers in the second round. The Gophers accepted a bid to the College Basketball Crown, where they lost to Baylor in the quarterfinals.

Offseason Departures Minnesota departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure Chansey Willis Jr. 0 G 6'2" 205 Senior Detroit, MI Transferred to Kent State Nehemiah Turner 4 F 6'10" 270 Sophomore Auburndale, FL Transferred to Jacksonville Langston Reynolds 6 G 6'4" 215 Senior Denver, CO Graduated Maximus Gizzi 11 G 6'1" 185 GS Senior New Palestine, IN Graduated RJ Spencer 12 G 6'3" 185 Senior Blaine, MN Walk-on; Graduated Chance Stephens 13 G 6'3" 185 RS Junior Riverside, CA Transferred BJ Omot 20 F 6'8" 200 RS Junior Mankato, MN Transferred to Cal State Northridge Robert Vaihola 22 F 6'8" 265 RS Senior San Mateo, CA Transferred to San Jose State

Incoming transfers Minnesota incoming transfers Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school Kyan Evans 0 G 6'2" 175 Senior Kansas City, MO North Carolina Malick Kordel 4 C 7'2" 275 Sophomore Oberhausen, Germany Michigan Malachi Palmer 7 G 6'6" 220 Junior Harrisburg, PA Villanova Nolan Groves 10 G 6'5" 205 Sophomore Orono, MN Texas Tech Winters Grady 22 G/F 6'6" 210 RS Freshman Tualatin, OR Michigan

Recruiting class

Renaming of Williams Arena

On June 12, 2026, the University of Minnesota announced that Williams Arena was being renamed to The Barn by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota as part of a ten-year agreement worth $17 million. The renaming makes official the long-used nickname for the arena, "The Barn". The arena, originally known as the University of Minnesota Field House, had borne the name Williams Arena since 1950 in honor of former Gophers football coach Dr. Henry L. Williams.

Cade Tyson elibility On September 8, 2026, the University of Minnesota announced that Cade Tyson had rejoined the team while awaiting the outcome of his eligibility status. Tyson was granted an extra year of elibility per a federal court preliminary injunction that gave high school class of 2022 athletes who exhausted their fourth season of college eligibility last spring a fifth season in 2026–27. However, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit halted the injunction in late August.

Roster

Schedule and results On June 23, 2026, Minnesota announced that it would play California in a neutral site game at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, SD. It marks the second consecutive year and fifth time overall that the Gophers have played a neutral site game at the Sanford Pentagon. On July 15, 2026, Minnesota announced it had reached an agreement for a home-and-home series with Cincinnati, with Minnesota playing at Cincinnati on November 9, 2026 and then hosting the Bearcats in Minneapolis during the 2027–28 season.

!colspan=9 style=""| Exhibition

!colspan=12 style=""| Regular season

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References

External links