Minnesota takes its unbeaten record to Cincinnati on Monday at 6 p.m. CT for a meeting of 2-0 teams in the annual Twyman-Stokes Classic. It is the first of three Big 12 opponents on the schedule for the Gophers and their first P4 nonconference game of the season.
The game gives Minnesota an early chance to measure itself against a high-major opponent while Jaylen Crocker-Johnson chases a milestone. He enters with 987 career points, 13 shy of 1,000, after scoring 31 this season and putting up 16 points and 10 rebounds against St. Thomas.
Isaac Asuma has provided the early offensive lift for Minnesota, leading the team with 16.5 points per game through the first week. He scored a career-high 20 points and put together 13 points, six rebounds and six assists against North Dakota, then followed with 14 points in the first half against St. Thomas. Minnesota is 56-39 against current Big 12 members historically, but the recent numbers show why Monday matters now: the Gophers are walking into a road game against another unbeaten team, and this is their first Big 12 test since a 67-48 loss to Baylor in the College Basketball Crown to end the 2025-26 campaign.
Cincinnati has matched the start, beating American 79-53 on Nov. 2 and Green Bay 81-64 on Nov. 5. Minnesota answered with an 85-50 win over North Dakota on Nov. 2 and a 76-62 victory over St. Thomas on Friday night, which is why the matchup carries more weight than an early-season date usually would. Niko Medved is seeing Cincinnati for the first time, and the series has not been close lately: the last meeting came on March 21, 2006, when Cincinnati won 76-62.
There is also more riding on the trip than one night. Minnesota and Cincinnati are set for a home-and-home over the next two years, with Cincinnati hosting Monday and Minnesota scheduled to bring the series to the Barn in the 2027-28 campaign, though that return date is still to be determined. Minnesota also has Oklahoma State and Utah waiting at the Charleston Classic from Nov. 20-22, along with Cal and SMU later in the season, giving it one of its heaviest nonconference slates in years. Monday is only the first step, but it is the one that tells the most about where this team stands.
