Shocking moment USC players and Purdue basketball fans get in heated confrontation at Big Ten Tournament
The USC Trojans didn’t just lose a winnable game to Purdue in the Big Ten tournament on Thursday night in Indianapolis. They also got into a heated confrontation with Boilermakers fans in the tunnel afterwards.
As seen in video that has since gone viral, 6-foot-10 Trojans power forward Josh Cohen and some of his teammates had a face off with attendees who are purported to be Purdue fans.
Trojans coaches are seen successfully getting in between their players and the other parties involved in the hallway confrontation.
Two Purdue fans are alleged to have instigated the confrontation by heckling Trojan players as they exited the court following the game. However, those claims have not been confirmed.
DailyMail.com has reached out to spokespeople for both schools seeking comment.
Tournament organizers, meanwhile, have issued a statement: ‘There was a verbal exchange near the entrance to the tunnel between members of the Trojans staff and a handful of fans ticketed in courtside club seats who also had access to the area. The exchange was quickly resolved without escalation, and adjustments have been made to security procedures surrounding that area for the remaining three days of the tournament in order to eliminate overlap between game participants and fans.’
Viral video shows USC players, including power forward Josh Cohen arguing with fans
Josh Cohen of the USC Trojans reacts during the first half against the Purdue Boilermakers
Regardless of who instigated the fracas, the Trojans will now await a possible NIT bid while the Boilermakers’ tournament run continues.
Trey Kaufman-Renn matched a career high with 30 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 28 seconds left, and No. 20 Purdue scored the final five points to beat Southern California 76-71 on Thursday night in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.
The sixth-seeded Boilermakers (22-10) trailed by 10 points in the first half, but they tied it by halftime and emerged from a back-and-forth second half thanks largely to Kaufman-Renn, who finished 12 of 20 from the field and 6 of 11 from the free-throw line.
Purdue advanced to face No. 22 and second-seeded Michigan in Friday´s quarterfinals. The teams split this season, with each winning at home.
With USC (16-17) trailing by three in the closing seconds, Desmond Claude turned the ball over before the Trojans could attempt a tying 3-pointer. Big Ten Player of the Year Braden Smith made two free throws to finish the scoring with 3.6 seconds remaining. Smith had 12 points on 3-of-10 shooting and nine assists.
Claude led the Trojans with 18 points. Wesley Yates added 13.
