Big Ten Tournament changes security detail following USC, fan confrontation

After USC‘s 76-71 loss to Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday, several Trojans were spotted in a heated altercation with Boilermakers fans on their way back to the locker room. The two parties had to be separated.

According to the person who caught the incident on video, the fans were heckling the players coming off the court after the game. On Friday, TMZ Sports reported the conference has taken security measures to ensure a similar incident doesn’t occur again.

“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,” a conference spokesperson told TMZ Sports. “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.”

The spokesperson didn’t specify what those adjustments are but it’s safe to assume the conference isn’t willing to risk a similar event unfolding this weekend. USC’s players were especially high after the game due to some controversial calls down the stretch.

Specifically, with five seconds left in the game and trailing 74-71, USC’s Wesley Yates was seemingly pushed to the ground. However, the officials didn’t blow their whistles and Purdue’s Braden Smith came away with the ball and, ultimately, the win. USC head coach Eric Musselman weighed in on the controversial officiating after the game.

“The game’s on tape, so anybody can watch it. And it doesn’t do me any good to sit up here and get fined or whatever,” Musselman said. “The game’s reviewable for anybody that wants to. … Look, (now) I got to go face a locker room that their season’s over, and I thought the gameplan, even with guys in foul trouble, I thought we could’ve won the game. But we didn’t.”

With the loss, USC’s season could potentially be over. The Trojans weren’t included in ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s latest NCAA Tournament projections. Despite the frustrating finish to the game, Musselman was proud of his team’s efforts.

“I feel for the locker room. This group came here to try to win this tournament, and I thought we put ourselves in position tonight to play one more day tomorrow,” Musselman said. “… We played well enough to win. That’s all I can say. I’m going to keep reiterating give Purdue credit. We’re new, we’ve got to earn respect.”