Emotions boiled over late Saturday night after Utah State upset Nevada.
Following the shocking loss for the Wolfpack, fans of the Aggies stormed the court, and that sent Nevada players over the top.
Players and staff got into an extremely heated altercation with police and what appears to be some Utah State staffers. At one point it appears that a police officer makes contact with a Nevada staff member.
It’s not 100 percent clear what kicked off the altercation, but it sounds like they were very upset about a lack of protection when the court was getting stormed.
From what I gathered Nevada players and coaches didn’t appreciate how Utah State fans treated them after the game (touching them, verbal abuse, etc.). Aggie fans had just rushed the court so they had easy access to players.
— Jake Edmonds (@JakeKUTV) March 3, 2019
Nevada players shouldn’t have even been in that tunnel. The scuffle happened just outside the Utah State locker room. I’d guess they were in that tunnel because there were too many fans on the court to allow them easy access to their own tunnel.
— Jake Edmonds (@JakeKUTV) March 3, 2019
Watch some videos of the the intense moment below.
This was the scene near the Utah State locker room. Players and coaches tried to get in, upset about fans touching the players on the court.
*Strong language (I bleeped what I could)* pic.twitter.com/Ax5Y7gdPMn— Matthew L Glade (@matthewLksl) March 3, 2019
Wow! Emotions running high after the Utah State vs Nevada game. This is incredible. @KUTV2News (WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE) pic.twitter.com/mFl7wIP6W9
— Jake Edmonds (@JakeKUTV) March 3, 2019
I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen something like this before. Those players and coaches were pissed as all hell, and they have every right to be if they were touched by fans.
It’s just another example of why storming the court is damn stupid and unnecessary. The raw emotion in the videos above is almost beyond words. (RELATED: Indiana Beats Wisconsin 75-73 In Triple-Overtime Thriller)
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Those coaches and players were over the top, and I don’t blame them one bit. College basketball can get emotional at times, and that’s what appears to have happened here.
As for the police, their first priority has to be the safety of the players on the floor. If somebody is rushing the court, then they had better figure out a way to secure an exit for the players.
This might be a very unpopular opinion, but I’m 100 percent in the corner of Nevada on this one. You can’t storm the court, have players potentially getting touched and then expect them to remain calm. It’s just not going to happen.