Ben Johnson pleads with Gophers fans to keep showing up: 'They have to believe'

Minnesota knocked off No. 20 Michigan last night in front of its home crowd, marking Ben Johnson's biggest win as a head coach. The Williams Arena crowd was loud, but there were still plenty of empty seats—a situation Johnson hopes will change soon.

With the spring semester at the University of Minnesota not starting until Tuesday, Jan. 21, the patented Barnyard student section was less than full on Thursday night. However, the students who were there made their presence felt.

Worth the listen: Ben Johnson pleads #Gophers fans to keep showing up and creating a good home environment.

“Fans have to be there. They have to believe. I know they don’t wanna hear that. They wanna hear you have to win first. It don’t work like that.” pic.twitter.com/UZuNKIPU9Z
— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) January 17, 2025

"I thought our crowd's energy was unreal," Johnson said after the game. "I get it. It’s hard when fans are fans, and you look at our record, and you’re debating if you want to come out—it’s cold, it’s a weekday, it’s whatever. But they matter so much. Whatever we’ve got to do. Sometimes, you have to go through the suck, fans included. They can rally this team, and we need them to rally this team."

Williams Arena is one of the most unique and oldest atmospheres in college basketball, dating all the way back to 1928. In a city like Minneapolis, with so many options for how fans can spend their time, Johnson understands the importance of a raucous home crowd.

"It’s so hard to win on the road. You have to be able to rely on and fall back on an atmosphere at home," Johnson continued. "I don’t know what we have to do to beg them, but I understand the record—I get it. But we need them. They’re important. They matter. We don’t win this game without them. I felt the energy. I know Michigan felt the energy."

Minnesota faces an incredibly tough road test next week against Iowa—a team Johnson has never beaten since becoming the program’s head coach. They will then return to The Barn for another opportunity against a ranked opponent next Saturday when they host Oregon, which is currently ranked 13th in the country.

"Having that environment, at this league, at this level—you have to have it. What comes first? The chicken or the egg? I know what comes first," Johnson said. "Fans have to be there; they have to believe. Sometimes, I know they don’t want to hear that. They want to hear, ‘You have to win first.’ It doesn’t work like that. It doesn’t. Some people are going to say I’m wrong, and I get it, but it doesn’t. That’s the reality. We need to have the atmosphere."

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Johnson mentioned Northwestern and Nebraska as two schools that have created tough environments. The key difference is that Northwestern has played in the NCAA Tournament in each of the last two seasons, while Nebraska is coming off its first appearance since 2013-14 and its most wins since the 1990s.

Both Northwestern and Nebraska are experiencing some of the best seasons in their respective programs' histories, while the opposite is true for Minnesota. There is some truth to what Johnson is saying, but the Gophers have not sniffed the NCAA Tournament since 2018-19.