In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Mike Lucas and Tom Oates talk about how to deal with college fans storming the basketball court after a big win. After Wake Forest’s recent upset against Duke, fans injured Blue Devils star Kyle Filipowski.
“How do you even contain it? There were kids on the floor before the final second ticked off in that Duke game against Wake Forest,” says Oates, the former Wisconsin State Journal sports columnist. “Security has to really concentrate on the visiting players and coaches because that’s where the problem comes in.”
Lucas says the enthusiasm behind court-storming is integral to the fabric of college athletics.
“But does anyone put their phone down?” asks Lucas, a Cap Times sports freelance writer and former radio color analyst for the Badgers. “Part of the problem with everyone who was storming the floor in that Wake Forest game was no one was paying attention to where they were running.”
The veteran sports journalists also pay tribute to Badger great Howard Moore, who is being honored at the Kohl Center before the Wisconsin men’s basketball game against Illinois on Saturday.
“Man, I miss Howard,” says Lucas. “Howard would keep after players — relentlessly — to get their degree. He wore the ‘W’ on his chest.”
The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Dylan Brogan. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.