Bruins' Bitter Rival Involved in Postgame Altercation

Following its Big Ten Tournament loss to the Purdue Boilermakers on Thursday, the UCLA Bruins' bitter rival, USC, was involved in a postgame altercation that involved multiple players and some Boilermaker fans.

Purdue Boilermakers forward Camden Heide (23) catches a pass Thursday, March 13, 2025, during the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament game against the USC Trojans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. | Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins' bitter rival was caught up in a postgame altercation following its Thursday night second-round loss to the Purdue Boilermakers in the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis. Tempers flared after a highly competitive game that ended in defeat and frustration for the Trojans.

In a video that surfaced on social media on Thursday night, some Trojan players were caught in the middle of a hostile exchange that took place in the postgame tunnels behind the arena. The altercation involved a few Purdue fans and a Gainbridge Fieldhouse security guard.

The two parties had to be separated before the Trojans went back to their locker room. As shown by the video, a few USC players were seen being held back by staff members to keep from escalating the situation. Things cooled in less than 30 seconds, and the altercation was diffused.

USC players get on altercation with Purdue fans after loss in the #btt pic.twitter.com/LUd2w8iCt7

— Body (@thebj42) March 14, 2025

It was a back-and-forth ballgame all night between the two lopsided seeds as the Trojans were the No. 14 seed, trying to pull an immaculate upset over the No. 6 seed Boilermakers. USC came up short in a 76-71 defeat.

The Boilermakers were led by junior forward Trey Kaufman-Renn, dropping a game-high 30 points with seven rebounds. USC held a six-point lead midway through the second half and could feel the potential upset rising. The defeat was a contributing factor to the emotions that exploded postgame.

Purdue fans were apparently letting their presence known, heckling the Trojan players during and following the contest. As USC headed back to its locker room, it came across some opposing fans that continued to taunt the Trojans. That is where things boiled over.

For USC, its season is over. Winning a Big Ten Tournament Championship seemed to be the only way it would be able to make the NCAA Tournament after finishing the year 16-17 with a 3-13 record against Quad 1 teams. Not to mention, a clean season sweep by the Bruins this year.

Despite a double-overtime win over Rutgers the night before, USC's first-year under head coach Eric Musselman has come to a close, ending in disappointment and a bit of extra drama at the conference tournament.

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