Williams Arena will feel the COVID-19 effect Wednesday night when the Minnesota Gophers men's basketball team starts up the regular season at home against UW-Green Bay.
Due to COVID-19 concerns, fans won't be allowed inside the arena this year, or any arenas of other Big Ten Conference schools.
"It's going to be totally different," Gophers head coach Richard Pitino said during The Morning News with Dave Lee. 'It's going to be empty buildings with no environment. But everyone is going to have to deal with it. It's absolutely and obstacle."
Pitino said the Gophers, who are coming off last season's overall record of 15-16 and 8-12 in the Big Ten, will need to focus on a few key areas to help them get through the season.
"I've told my team there are three things we have to battle that include our human nature, the team we are playing, and COVID is the other thing we have to defeat," Pitino told Dave Lee. "You have three opponents and you have to figure it out."
Related
With no fans in The Barn, Pitino also realizes there are no certainties when it comes to who he will have available to play on a given gameday.
"It is going to create a huge challenge," Pitino said. "People have to understand that. It's great we're trying to play the games, but we have to remember, fans and everybody, that we're trying to play sports in the middle of a pandemic while we're not in a bubble."
Workouts were paused just a couple of week ago due to positive COVID-19 tests in the program. Players, coaches, and staff are normally tested six days per week.
"I really do feel bad for our guys because they're in there every morning waiting at 8 a.m. to get tested," Pitino said. "They're sacrificing a lot, like everyone else in the world right now, and there's a lot put on their plate. If there's one way we can back to normal, it's on the basketball court. We just have to do all these things to get back on it."
Wednesday marks just the second game every between the Gophers and the Green Bay Phoenix. The Phoenix are led by first-year head coach Will Ryan, the son of former Wisconsin head men's basketball coach, Bo Ryan.