Minnesota Reignites Court-Storming Debate After Upsetting Indiana
A rare home upset, a long drought snapped, and the never-ending debate over court-storming.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers pulled off an upset over the No. 22 Indiana Hoosiers on Wednesday night. The Gophers erased an eight-point first-half deficit to send the game into halftime tied and then pulled away in the second half for a 73-64 victory on their home court.
Of course, the win sent the Williams Arena crowd into a frenzy and fans rushed onto the court as soon as the clock hit zero.
The court-storming reignites the age-old debate (or just the one that passionately overtakes OutKick staff calls multiple times per year) about when storming the court is appropriate. Does beating the No. 22 team in the country, the now 7-1 Indiana Hoosiers, constitute rushing the court?
For me, the answer is simple: yes. I am the pro-court-storming soldier in the OutKick staff call war. I had a chance to storm the court once in college (I went to Penn State; there aren't many big basketball wins to celebrate) and it was one of the highlights of my college experience.
Like Penn State, Minnesota isn't exactly a basketball powerhouse. For most of these students, this could be the only chance they have to storm the court after a big home win. I am not going to be the fun police and stand in their way.
Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Isaac Asuma celebrates with fans after the team's upset over the Indiana Hoosiers at Williams Arena.
(Matt Krohn/Imagn Images)
Minnesota hadn't beaten Indiana since 2019, losing the past nine meetings. That means none of the students in the stands attended the school the last time it happened (unless there's some Van Wilder situation going on in Minneapolis).
I understand the counterargument, especially for Minnesota. They had a court-storm last season after beating Michigan in January. But that was the school's first win over a ranked opponent since 2021.
I don't care. I grant schools one court-storm per season. Those are the rules because I said so.
Minnesota entered the game with a 4-4 record that included a three-game losing streak prior to the Indiana win. Their other wins came against Gardner-Webb, Alcorn State, Green Bay (aka the Fightin' Doug Gottliebs) and Chicago State. The point is that the Gophers aren't exactly headed toward a banner basketball season.
I say let the kids be kids and have some fun.