Two impact guards. Two sharpshooting forwards. An extremely versatile power forward. A 7-foot-2 center. And 3-5 players off the bench who can play.

Those are the ingredients necessary to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, and you’ll find them associated with the best teams in the Big Ten every season. Funny, that’s exactly what the Minnesota Golden Gophers have if Cade Tyson is granted eligibility.

Tyson rejoined the Minnesota men’s basketball team on Tuesday. He’s now waiting for eligibility confirmation, which, if he’s allowed to play a fifth season of college basketball, would give the Gophers all of the ingredients to compete for a Big Ten title and a strong seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Without Tyson, the Gophers lack a bona fide scoring threat. With Tyson, they have the Big Ten’s top returning scorer. He averaged 19.6 points per game in 2025-26, ranking sixth in the conference. The five guys ahead of him — Nick Martinelli, Lamar Wilkerson, Nick Boyd, Bruce Thornton, and Bennett Stirtz — are gone.

If Minnesota runs onto the court in November with the five guys below as starters, the Big Ten could be in for a big surprise.

  • Kyan Evans, G, 6’2”
  • Isaac Asuma, G, 6’3”
  • Cade Tyson, SF, 6’7”
  • Jalen Crocker-Johnson, PF, 6’8”
  • Malick Kordel, C, 7’2”

They’ll also have strong depth:

  • Bobby Durkin, F, 6’7”
  • Grayson Grove, F, 6’9”
  • Winters Grady, G/F, 6’6”
  • Malachi Palmer, G, 6’6”
  • Nolan Groves, G, 6’5”
  • Kai Shinholster, G, 6’5”

Durkin and Grove will certainly get minutes, while the timeshare between Shinholster and the newcomers (Grady, Groves, and Palmer) is unclear. It could also mean that true freshmen Nolan Anderson, Cedric Tomes, Chadrack Mpoyi, and Blake Nixon, as well as redshirt freshman Max Lorenson, will hardly see the floor in 2026-27.

If Tyson is allowed to play, he’ll 100 percent be starting alongside Evans, Asuma, and Crocker-Johnson. Kordel, based on his size (7’2”, 275 lbs) and how his teammates raved about him this summer, is a projected starter, though we can’t be certain.

“He’s the one that came in, and he really wants to work. He’s learning a lot. He really didn’t get a good opportunity back at Michigan,” Crocker-Johnson said of Kordell in early July. “We believe in him. He’s a good guy, he plays hard, he wants to do the right thing. So I feel like he has come in and given the most spark, for sure.”

Kordel didn’t see much action at Michigan last season, which makes sense because he was playing behind first-round picks Morez Johnson Jr., Aday Mara, and Yaxel Lendeborg.

The 3 best teams in Minnesota’s way?

Most prognosticators are picking Illinois, Michigan, and Michigan State to finish at the top of the Big Ten standings. Illinois is going to be a monster, and should be picked over Minnesota and everyone else. Michigan and Michigan State had a ton of turnover.

The Fighting Illini return five core players, including David Mirkovic, Andrej Stojakovic, Tomislav Ivisic, Zvonimir Ivisic, and Jake Davis. They also added guard Stefan Vaaks, who averaged 15.0 points per game at Providence, along with 5-star freshman Quentin Coleman. Illinois is without a doubt a national title contender.

Michigan brings back Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney, and they added 7-foot-2 center Moustapha Thiam from Cincinnati, 6-foot-11 big man J.P. Estrella from Tennessee, 6-foot-10 forward Jalen Reed from LSU, and Kenny Noland, who scored 17.1 points per game at Columbia. They also have a new coaching staff after Dusty May left for the Dallas Mavericks.

Michigan State retained Jeremy Fears Jr., Coen Carr, Cam Ward, and Jordan Scott at guard and wing, but they lost big men Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler. Anton Bonke was a solid transfer portal addition at center, but the rest of the newcomers are mostly recruits, including 5-star big man Ethan Taylor.

Nobody is going to pick the Gophers to win the Big Ten, much less compete for a spot near the top. But if Tyson is granted eligibility, they’ll have the guard play, shooting, versatility, size, and coaching to compete with anyone in the country.

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This story was originally published by Bring Me The Sports on Sep 9, 2026, where it first appeared in the MN Gophers section. Add Bring Me The Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Source: Yahoo Sports