Story byPioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn. Andy Greder, Pioneer PressWed, February 18, 2026 at 5:35 AM UTC·2 min readAfter an ugly and turnover-filled first half Tuesday, Oregon went on a 9-0 run to take a 30-29 lead on the Gophers with 13 minutes left at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore. Minnesota was even more shorthanded, down to a rotation of six total players and only one big man, so it looked like a familiar script was going to play out yet again: the U scrapping in the second half, but just not having enough horsepower to get the job done for a Big Ten victory. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementGophers coach Niko Medved called a timeout after the Ducks run, saying it was time to dig in with some energy plays. “We ran a little set, a middle ball screen,” Medved explained on the KFAN postgame show. That resulted in a Grayson Grove roll to the rim and a dunk.
