Kansas State won its biggest game of the season on Monday night, as the 14-15 Wildcats defeated No. 8 Kansas at home. Naturally, the fans stormed the court after the 70-63 win. Kansas coach Bill Self was not happy about it.
Self found himself pinned near the scorer’s table after hundreds of fans flooded the court. He needed a hand from Kansas State coach Bruce Weber just to get away from the chaos.
“That’s disappointing that happened again, but we also allowed it to happen again,” Self told reporters after the game, via ESPN.com. “It’s a ballgame. It’s not about chicken-winging somebody when the game’s over. Hopefully, they can get that corrected. It’s fine if you want to celebrate when you beat us, that’s your business. That’s fine. But at least it shouldn’t put anybody at risk from a safety standpoint.”
When a sea of rowdy fans are about to storm the court, there’s only so much a handful of security guards can do. Still, Weber said he apologized to Self on behalf of his team’s fans.
“I apologized to Bill and to his staff and to their administration,” Weber said, per Kellis Robinett of The Kansas City Star. “I felt bad. I love the students and it is a cool thing to be a part of that, but you also have to be careful of making sure nobody gets hurt.
“I tried to protect Bill as best I could. Finally, I said, ‘To heck with it,’ and started pushing people out of the way, which is sad. You want to enjoy it, but also be respectful of your opponent and make sure they get off the court safely.”
Of course, there were some fans who were not handling the win with class. Kansas assistant coach Kurtis Townsend appeared to put a Kansas State fan in a headlock at one point to keep him from making his way toward the Jayhawks players.
Self is not the only coach who dislikes fans storming the court. If you remember, John Calipari took a shot at Indiana over their fans doing it not too long ago. But when you’re on the losing end, court-storming becomes even more obnoxious.
