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A postgame brawl nearly broke out between the Southern Illinois Salukis and the Murray State Racers on Tuesday. Somehow, a fan got down on the court and attempted to get in the middle of things.
The scrum occurred after the Salukis’ win over the Racers while players from the two sides were shaking hands.
Now, there’s nothing new about altercations during the handshakes. Look no further than last season when Michigan’s Juwan Howard slapped a Wisconsin coach during the postgame salutations.
These incidents are the reason that many would like to do away with the tradition altogether.
But as it stands, the practice still exists. And on Tuesday, things nearly came to a head between these two conference rivals. Players from both sides began jawing, which led to coaches attempting to separate the teams and return to their respective locker rooms.
— No Context College Basketball (@ContextFreeCBB) January 25, 2023
Just as things seemed to be de-escalating, a Salukis fan hopped on the court to give his two cents to the Racers. At the end of the clip, you see a man sitting courtside arguing with a group of Murray State players as they made their way off the court.
The man’s wife luckily gets in between before anything unnecessary happens.
Head coach Bryan Mullins talked about that SIU faithful after what announcers described as a chippy game from start to finish.
“Our fanbase is awesome. Their fanbase is good, but not as good as ours.”
Many online say the Southern Illinois crowd had as much to do with that environment as the players on the court.
The altercation put an ugly end to a heated rivalry. This was the second and final regular season matchup between the MVC foes, with the Salukis taking both games over the Racers.
We’ll see if the two sides meet up again in the postseason.