SEC levies $100K fine on LSU for court storming after Kentucky upset Wednesday night

The relatively new SEC punishment for court and field storming has gotten plenty of run this basketball season, with upsets aplenty across the league. And now LSU has been tagged with a fine for a court storming after the men’s basketball team upset Kentucky on Wednesday night.

As such, LSU has been slapped with a $100,000 fine, which will be paid out to Kentucky. The $100,000 fine is for a first-time offense, with additional fines climbing to $250,000 and $500,000 for second and third (or more) offenses.

And because it was a conference matchup, the $100,000 goes to the Wildcats. Fines for non-conference court or field stormings goes into an SEC fund for post-graduate scholarships.

The league policy applying sanctions for fans incurring on the field or court has existed since 2004, but had the financial penalties altered in 2015 and, more recently, in 2023.

LSU defeated Kentucky, 75-74.

John Calipari was befuddled by his team in a late moment

Kentucky was seconds away from securing a big road win at LSU on Wednesday, before a Tyrell Ward layup at the buzzer lifted the Tigers to a 75-74 victory.

After the game, Wildcats coach John Calipari shared that he was frustrated with his team for not finding a way to get one final stop.

LSU forward Jordan Wright drove along the right side in the final seconds and tried to get off a shot. It was blocked, but Wright got the ball back and made the pass to Ward, who hit the game winner and left Calipari and his Kentucky team disappointed.

“Adou [Thiero] blocks it. I’ve gotta watch the tape and say, ‘Who did not grab that ball? The winning ball. Who didn’t grab it? And why? Why not dive on the floor, just tie it up and we win the game,’” Calipari said.

It wasn’t just the final play that had Calipari frustrated. Kentucky led by 15 points at one point in the second half, before coming up short.

Rob Dillingham hit a jumper for the Wildcats with 12 seconds remaining, but it didn’t matter in the end. Dillingham finished with 23 points in the loss.

“Fought to get back, made baskets. Robert Dillingham made some unbelievable plays. We went to him late and he did what he does,” Calipari said.

“[But] 50-50 balls cost us the game. That’s all we talked about — 50-50 balls. Not only the last play, the play before that. … Don’t tell me about your offense. If you’re not going to come up with 50-50 balls, you can’t win.”