In case you missed it, with Saint Louis leading 69-63 at the Chaifetz Arena in Saint Louis, and 1:10 remaining in regulation, a fight broke out between opposing fans just 5-8 rows behind the VCU bench. The melee required multiple in-arena security officers and police to separate, delaying the game for nearly seven minutes.
The Billikens held on to win 78-69, avenging their loss at VCU on January 14. Both teams sit 6-2 in the Atlantic 10.
Chaifetz Arena was once called “The Toughest Place to Play in the A-10” by former VCU head coach Chaka Smart, now the head coach at #9-ranked Marquette. Smart knows about the atmosphere and how the fans are right on top of the action, but this is one of the last places in the country where you would have expected an altercation like what we saw.
Saint Louis has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2019, and has not been out of the first round since 2014. First year head coach Josh Schertz has the Billikens looking to end such a streak this year. Gibson Jimerson, who is one of the best names in men’s college basketball this season, led the way with a game-high 26 points. Despite committing 17 turnovers, the Billikens were able to defend their home floor.
During a timeout, cameras on CBS Sports Network began to pick up a disturbance behind the VCU bench. Very quickly you could see two fans spilling backward over a row of seats mere feet from the bench, and a lot of clothing being grabbed and wrestled with. Police and in-arena security were quickly dispatched to break up the melee, and you could see one large member of the security staff screaming at a Saint Louis fan to head up the aisleway.
If anyone had a right to be angry around the VCU bench, it should have been the VCU players themselves. Shooting 32.8 percent from the floor, and an abysmal 5-31 (16.1%) from three is all the proof you need as to why you lost.
Networks were actively told not to cut away to incidents in the stands after the “Malice At The Palace” in 2004. You will hear announcers commenting about morons who run onto the field, only to be tackled by security before their inevitable night in jail. Kevin Harland infamously called play-by-play on radio for Westwood One for one such incident during an extremely boring Monday Night Football game between San Francisco and the Los Angeles Rams. His broadcast partner Kurt Warner described the commentary as the most entertaining thing to happen all night.
Saint Louis Athletic Director Chris May said “protocols would be changed” prior to the Billikens’ Friday night tilt against Dayton at the Chaifetz Arena. This is the first meeting between the schools this season, with Saint Louis only having 10 games left on their regular season schedule. May said there would be a focus on how the arena can use the ushers and security to make sure something like this VCU incident does not happen again.
A win against the Flyers on Friday ensures the arena may need to beef up security when George Mason comes calling on February 11. The Patriots sit atop the A-10 at 7-1, just a game ahead of Saint Louis and VCU.
Fans brawling in the stands is nothing new, as there is typically at least one good one that makes headlines a month anymore. Typically you see players looking up for the higher levels of seats, where the tickets are cheaper, which means more beer can be afforded. There are not as many instances where players simply need to turn around from their own bench.
-JC24