Arena #148: Williams Arena - Minnesota vs. DePaul

Living in Wisconsin, it’s hard to believe it’s taken until Arena #148 to make a visit to Williams Arena (aka The Barn) in Minneapolis for a game, but given the University of Minnesota is the only Division 1 program in the state, I needed something more than just 1 game to make the drive up.  A top 12 rivalry matchup on the gridiron between the Golden Gophers and the Wisconsin Badgers for Paul Bunyan’s Axe and a spot in the B1G championship game seemed a great occasion for just such a trip when the schedule worked out perfectly by having a mid-afternoon Black Friday basketball game with the football game on Saturday afternoon.  Turns out the basketball game ended up being a much more exciting matchup than expected in the preseason as the DePaul Blue Demons headed up from Chicago to the Barn with an undefeated record.  Before talking about the game, let’s talk about the Barn and it’s “uniqueness.”  Given the arena was built in the 1920’s, it certainly has some interesting design features such as having to walk through the stands on the first level to reach the upper level seats, but it’s most well-known unique feature is obviously the elevated court.  The Final Four uses a similar layout now each year since it’s played in a football stadium, but seeing it in a much smaller venue like Williams Arena is even more interesting.  Onto the game, DePaul was extremely impressive throughout the contest led by Charlie Moore dropping dimes all over the court and Jalen Coleman-Lands making timely 3s to fend off a huge day in the paint from Minnesota’s center Daniel Oturu who put up 19 points and 18 boards in a losing effort.

Historic Williams Arena aka "The Barn"

Pregame view of the elevated court from the upper level

Gophers attacking the basket in the first half

Jalen Coleman-Lands from DePaul for 3 late in the contest