Bruce Pearl Discusses Storming The Court In College Basketball On 'Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich'

Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl joined the “Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich” podcast to discuss a popular trend taking the college basketball world by storm - literally.

After numerous regular season games in college basketball (both men’s and women’s), fans have stormed the court after their team gets a win.

Some make sense, like when the Indiana Hoosiers men’s basketball team upset No.1 Purdue at home earlier this month. Others make less sense, such as when Penn State beat No. 11 Wisconsin last week. Fans seem to be taking every opportunity they can to celebrate on the hardwood when their team wins these days.

“It used to be reserved, Bruce, for only (if) you like beat Duke or the ‘76 Hoosiers,” Dakich said.

Pearl echoed that sentiment, saying that teams who don’t earn monumental wins should celebrate without storming the court.

“I tell people, act like you’ve been there before,” Pearl said.

Somewhere, OutKick’s David Hookstead is smiling from ear to ear in a Wisconsin Badgers hoodie.

Now to be fair, Pearl also said he’s for court storming. He just wants schools to have a plan to manage it so that players or coaches don’t get hurt. The head coach recalled when Arkansas upset his then-top-ranked Tigers in 2021, and he said that he almost got trampled in the crowd.

“Especially when we know the game’s going to be decided, let the opposing team get off the court for a second…have those ropes,” Pearl said.

The head coach certainly highlighted an important point. On Saturday, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark nearly got seriously hurt when Ohio State fans stormed the court after upsetting the Hawkeyes. While it looks like she flopped and potentially initiated contact with a fan, it certainly scared lots of people. Plus, it could happen at other games in the future.

“Thank God she didn’t get hurt," Pearl said.