Hundreds of LSU basketball fans stormed the court when their Tigers stunned the No. 17 Kentucky Wildcats in a thrilling 75-74 win. But that’s a big no-no in NCAA sports.
According to On3, LSU has been hit with a $100,000 fine which must be paid to Kentucky as a consequence for allowing the fans to storm the court. This is the school’s first offense. Additional offenses will result in much higher penalties.
The SEC has been against court-storming for 20 years but has had to adjust their rules on punishments twice in the last 10 years.
What might be even crazier about the whole situation is that the court storming occurred while there could have been time left on the clock. Cameras showed that it started with 0.2 seconds remaining and in a post-game interview, LSU head coach Matt McMahon admitted that he wanted the students to get off the court out of concern that officials were about to put some extra time on the clock.
While the court-storming ultimately didn’t affect the outcome of the game, LSU athletic director Scott Woodward isn’t going to be happy about having to cut a six-figure check. Let alone one earmarked for the rival Wildcats.
LSU’s NCAA Tournament hopes as an at-large bid are still on life support. They’re 14-12 with five games to go plus the SEC Tournament and will likely need to both win out their remaining games and make a run in the postseason tournament in order to be a part of March Madness.