Kansas and Kansas State erupted into a fight on Tuesday night.
The Jayhawks were closing out an 81-60 Big 12 home win over their in-state rivals. Things got heated when the buzzer sounded.
Kansas forward Silvio De Sousa threw a punch and picked up a chair during the chaos. It’s difficult to pinpoint specific things from there. Police, security and team personnel stepped in to clear up the melee.
It’s one of the uglier incidents in recent memory for the heated Kansas state rivalry.
Benches emptied at the end of the Kansas State-Kansas game. pic.twitter.com/zWv46h3RJC
— ESPN (@espn) January 22, 2020
An all-out brawl just happened. pic.twitter.com/73MBmr0RNf
— Riley Gates (@Riley_Gates) January 22, 2020
Kansas’ Silvio De Sousa went full WWE and picked up a chair amid a huge brawl between Kansas and Kansas State. pic.twitter.com/flC5NDPRfd
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) January 22, 2020
We’re definitely going to see suspensions out of this Kansas and Kansas State fight. It will depend on what the Big 12 is able to see during its investigation. The conference will try to track down as much evidence as possible to see how this started and who instigated things further.
After the game, both coaches talked about the brawl and how things played out in their eyes.
Self talking now... #KUbball
— Matt Tait (@mctait) January 22, 2020
"Obviously there was a role that was played by our players but I've got to watch the tape to know the extent of it."
"I know that we were in the wrong. I'm not saying both parties weren't in the wrong but I know we were."
Weber said he told his team to "back off" at the end instead of trying to pressure #KUbball in the final seconds. That was the catalyst for the ugly scene.
— Matt Tait (@mctait) January 22, 2020
“You win with class, you lose with class. I had told them not to press, I had told them not to foul. I told them back off"
Weber: I'm just happy nothing major happened because that would not have been the best thing for #KUbball or K-State or college basketball.
— Matt Tait (@mctait) January 22, 2020
Kansas and Kansas State have some recent history during this rivalry. Bill Self and Kansas forward Jamari Traylor had a difficult time with a court storm after Kansas State won on its home floor five years ago. But that was more of a student-related incident instead of the two teams starting a fight.
No. 3 Kansas improves to 15-3 overall and 5-1 in the Big 12 with the win. Christian Braun paced the Jayhawks with 20 points. Devon Dotson added 18 points while Udoka Azubuike had a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
A clearly-frustrated Kansas State dropped to 8-10 and 1-5 in the Big 12 as the rebuilding season continues.
These two teams will meet again in the Octagon of Doom on Feb. 29. The fight in the first matchup will be something to monitor as Kansas could still be fighting for a Big 12 title or No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
It’s been a wild night in college basketball. Illinois’ Alan Griffin stepped on Purdue’s Sasha Stefanovic and was ejected. This is yet another bad incident that doesn’t involve basketball.