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The Florida Gators and Kentucky Wildcats took part in a huge SEC showdown with major postseason implications on the line. Upon entering the matchup, Kentucky sat as a No. 8 seed in Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology projections.
Florida, meanwhile, needed a win to stay on the bubble. Their fans would do anything and everything to make that happen.
This is a hostile basketball rivalry between two schools that really don’t like one another. Look no further than the first meeting of the season when we saw a long-time Kentucky athletic staff member fired for flipping the bird to Florida players.
On Wednesday, Gator fans did their best to rile up their opposition.
Midway through the second half of action, Wildcats player Cason Wallace chased a loose ball out of bounds. In the process, he made contact with three Florida fans sitting courtside.
Now, typically you’d see bystanders do everything in their power to get out of the way and not make themselves a part of the game. These three onlookers did quite the opposite.
One fan attempted to grab Wallace and keep him from running up the court. Another then hooked his arm around the Wildcat player’s neck as he tried to free himself from the crowd.
Take a look.
Cason Wallace was grabbed by Florida fans after chasing a loose ball into the crowd.
Unacceptable.
The three Florida fans were ejected, but received an applause from the crowd… pretty classless. pic.twitter.com/DoGy903a26
— Tristan Pharis (@TristanUda) February 23, 2023
Shortly after the incident, the fans were escorted out of the arena.
They’d miss the final 13 minutes of action, which might’ve been a good thing based on their fandom. Kentucky would go on to beat Florida, 82-74.
Four of the Wildcats’ five starters notched double figures as they completed the season sweep of their hated foe.
With the win, UK improved to 19-9 on the year, further solidifying their standing in the NCAA Tournament. Florida, meanwhile, fell to 14-14 and could find themselves on the outside looking in come March.