MINNEAPOLIS -- Bundle up, Gophers fans.
The Barn will be open for business for Minnesota's next game against Illinois, despite extreme cold that has triggered scores of canceled events around the state this week.
The university announced Tuesday that the Gophers will play the Illini as scheduled Wednesday, when the overnight temperatures are forecast to fall as low as 30 degrees below zero with a wind chill of more than 40 below zero.
Minnesota coach Richard Pitino encouraged fans to be safe.
"If you do come, bring it a little extra because we need you." said Pitino, who called Williams Arena "as big of an advantage as anything we have here."
With similarly dangerous winter weather gripping the Chicago area, too, DePaul announced its game on Wednesday against 14th-ranked Villanova would be played as planned. The university will open Wintrust Arena near downtown one hour earlier than usual and provide free covered parking at nearby McCormick Place.