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Fans throw trash after Pat Kelsey technical foul, cause delay in Louisville vs. Creighton

On3 imageby:Sam Gillenwater•about 21 hours•

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Water Bottle (Louisville vs. Creighton)

Louisville was trying to make a late comeback against Creighton in the opening game of the NCAA Tournament. However, in the midst of that, cooler heads didn’t prevail on the bench or in the stands.

Pat Kelsey received a technical foul with under five minutes left in the Cardinals’ game in the Round of 64 against the Bluejays. Moments later, a full water bottle was then thrown from the baseline and onto the court at Rupp Arena, which caused a delay in the game that was several minutes long.

“That was a full bottle of water. That was very dangerous. And it went right over the Creighton bench,” Brian Anderson said on the call with agreement on the issue from Jim Jackson. “I’ll tell you, whoever did that should never be allowed to come into this arena again…That’s a joke.”

This was already an undesirable act by whichever fan threw the bottle, especially since it was on the side of the court with Creighton’s bench on it opposite of Louisville. It just then only further compounded the overall effect on the game from the technical on Kelsey.

Louisville, who was down as much as 20, had cut their deficit down to at least a dozen with just under five minutes left. From there, though, Terrance Edwards Jr. was, on consecutive possessions, called for a foul they disagreed with on one end before not getting a whistle on a three-point attempt on the other end. At that point, Kelsey leaned out onto the floor to let the official know something and, for that, earned the tech.

With two made free throws from Steven Ashworth (22 points) and a made jumper from Jamiya Neal (29 points), Creighton then immediately pushed the lead back to 16. They’d then close it out over the final four minutes in the 14-point outcome.

This incident affected the final minutes of this game, to some extent, with the stoppage it created before the four points it led to for Creighton. Still, Louisville has now been knocked out of the bracket with Creighton advancing to the Round of 32.

No. 9 Creighton wins over No. 8 Louisville in opening game of 2025 NCAA Tournament

No. 9 Creighton advanced in the opening game of the NCAA Tournament with an 89-75 win against No. 8 Louisville. The Bluejays built a lead as big as 20 points with an offensive output where they shot 57.1% from the field and 45.8% from three. The Cardinals tried to make a run in front of a crowd in their own home state but, after a technical foul on Pat Kelsey and the close of the game, Louisville was eliminated from their first tournament appearance this decade. With that, Creighton now awaits the winner of No. 1 Auburn and No. 16 Alabama State this afternoon for their opponent in the Round of 32.