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5 things to watch as Gophers basketball opens exhibition play against Omaha
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- 5 things to watch as Gophers basketball opens exhibition play against Omaha
The Gophers play their first of two exhibitions on Thursday night, Oct. 15, against Omaha at The Barn. After a "secret scrimmage" last week against Drake, it will be our first opportunity to see this year's team live in action. Here are five key storylines to keep an eye on before the regular-season opener on Nov. 2.
Schedule/how to watch
Minnesota hosts Omaha on Thursday, Oct. 15, at The Barn. That game will tip off at 7 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live on BTN+. The Mavericks have built a solid Summit League program under fourth-year head coach Chris Crutchfield, but this would be a Quad 4 buy game in regular-season circumstances. It's a game the Gophers should have zero issues winning by a large margin.
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The Gophers hit the road to wrap up preseason exhibition play with a Friday, Oct. 23, showdown against Creighton. That game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on the @gocreighton YouTube channel.
Overall rotation
The easiest thing you can learn from preseason college basketball exhibitions is a team's preferred rotation. Especially in the modern era of the sport, Minnesota added five transfers and four incoming freshmen to the 2026-27 roster. Niko Medved and his staff will still need to figure out how all those pieces fit together.
It appears that the starting lineup will likely be Isaac Asuma, Kyan Evans, Bobby Durkin, Jaylen Crocker-Johnson and Malick Kordel, but will there be any surprises? Do they go small and add Winters Grady or Malachi Palmer to the starting lineup? Who's first off the bench? Do any of the freshmen play? There are still a lot of questions to be answered.
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What's Kordel's role?
Listed at 7-foot-2, Kordel transferred to Minnesota in the offseason after just one season at Michigan. He's already 22 years old, but his basketball experience is much more limited, as he picked up the sport as a teenager in Germany. He remains a true wild card in Minnesota's system.
We can confidently assume the types of roles that players like Asuma, Evans, Durkin and Crocker-Johnson will have, but the rest of the roster is wide open. Does Kordel play just 20 minutes as a lob-catching big man? Or is he a crucial part of Minnesota's system as a 28- to 30-minute-per-game guy? There's no player I am more interested in seeing in both games than Kordel.
Wing pecking order
Asuma and Evans are Minnesota's starting backcourt, and its big men are Crocker-Johnson, Kordel, Grayson Grove and freshman Chadrick Mpoyi. Everything else appears to still be a question.
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Durkin is likely the best shooter and most experienced wing on the roster. Grady from Michigan and Palmer from Villanova were two key transfer portal pickups, but how big are their roles? Can Nolan Groves or Kai Shinholster crack the rotation? Will Nolen Anderson see the floor as a true freshman? Minnesota has substantially more depth than last season, which makes for some interesting decisions.
Backup point guard
Evans and Asuma are clearly Minnesota's top two options at guard, and both players might be true combo guards. They can facilitate when needed and play off the ball at an efficient level. I am expecting a big year from both players, but what happens when they come off the floor?
Is Minnesota equipped to handle minutes with both players off the floor? Is true freshman Cedric Tomes ready for the backup point guard role? Does Shinholster get some experience as a backup ball handler? Do they avoid taking both of them off the floor at the same time altogether? Players like Grady or Palmer could play a second guard spot in the starting lineup, but I am curious to see who this team's third ball handler and facilitator is.
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This story was originally published by Bring Me The Sports on Oct 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the MN Gophers section. Add Bring Me The Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
