Clark’s collision with fan raises court-storming, crowd concerns
No. 16 Utah shocks No. 2 UCLA; No. 3 North Carolina rocks Wake Forest
The visual of one of the nation’s most popular athletes knocked to the floor after a fan who was staring at her phone collided with her while storming the court was a stark reminder of the dangers athletes face when crowds get out of control.
Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark was shaken up but not injured in the collision, which occurred Sunday as she headed toward the locker room with teammates following a 100-92 loss to then-No. 18 Ohio State in Columbus.
It was the second time in less than two weeks that fans have stormed the court at the end of a Big Ten game. It happened Jan. 9 in Lincoln when the Nebraska men knocked off then-No. 1 Purdue. Boilermakers coach Matt Painter said afterward game management personnel need to be better prepared to protect athletes caught up in the commotion.
Of the six major basketball conferences, four fine host schools for a first offense of failure to keep fans off the court. The ACC does not levy fines and the Big Ten waits until a third offense.
“We try not to be too heavy-handed on the policy of court-storming for a problem that doesn’t necessarily exist . ... Don’t want to unfairly financially hurt already cash-strapped athletic departments,” Big Ten vice president of strategic communications Scott Markley said Monday in an interview with The Associated Press.
“But we do have a policy,” he said. “But generally it’s rely on school policy, local law enforcement, (to) know what’s best for their fans and student-athletes and officials. And we’re always monitoring these things and discuss if we need to make adjustments in the interest of a safe environment.”
Jan Jensen, Iowa’s associate head coach, told the AP on Monday that Clark reported no after-effects from the collision. Clark is the reigning national player of the year and is on the cusp of becoming the all-time leading scorer in Division I women’s basketball.
“When you have an athlete that hits the turf — but then you have arguably the highest-profile college athlete — this might spark the debate about what do we need to do with this,” Jensen said.
Markley said the Big Ten’s game management manual addresses security. Reading from the manual, he said “host institutions must provide adequate security and protection for the visiting teams and officials and their vehicles immediately upon arrival on campus continuing through their departure.”
Markley said institutions “will be held responsible for school-sponsored student and band sections that attack or single out student-athletes. An institution not in compliance with this policy shall be subject to conference review and action.”
Markley said the first offense prompts a private notification to the institution. The second offense brings a public acknowledgement of an institutional problem. A fine could be levied for a third offense, Markley said.
Other than to say student-athlete safety is of “utmost importance,” the Big Ten did not comment directly on the fan’s collision with Clark.
The Big 12 fined UCF $25,000 for a court-storming following an upset of Kansas in a men’s game Jan. 10.
The Southeastern Conference has a multitiered fine for field or court-storming: $100,000 for the first offense, $250,000 for the second and $500,000 for subsequent offenses. The policy began with the 2023-24 season, with all schools starting with a clean slate.
The Pac-12 issues fines of $25,000 for a first offense, $50,000 for the second and $100,000 for the third. The Big East fines schools $5,000.
Men’s basketball
NO. 3 NORTH CAROLINA 85, WAKE FOREST 64: In Chapel Hill, N.C., RJ Davis continued his star-making season with a career-high 36 points as UNC dominated after halftime to beat Wake Forest on Monday night.
He had 23 second-half points for UNC (16-3, 8-0 ACC), which went from trailing by one at the break after failing to make a 3-pointer to consistently attacking the paint to build momentum toward the rim and find a humming flow.
Wake Forest (13-6, 5-3) never got back to within single digits again during a cold-shooting second half that included going six minutes without a basket. The Tar Heels shot 19 for 31 (61%) and outscored Wake Forest 52-30 after halftime, earning yet another impressive victory.
NO. 7 KANSAS 74, CINCINNATI 69: In Lawrence, Kansas, Johnny Furphy led No. 7 Kansas with 23 points as the Jayhawks pulled ahead of Cincinnati in the second half for a win.
Women’s basketball
NO. 16 UTAH 94, NO. 2 UCLA 81: In Salt Lake City, Kennady McQueen had a season-high 21 points, Dasia Young and Matyson Wilke each made four 3-pointers and No. 16 Utah upended No. 2 UCLA in overtime Monday.
Young and Wilke each had season highs of 16 points to overcome an off-game by Pili, who had 16 points on 4-of-15 shooting.
Utah (14-5, 4-3 Pac-12) hadn’t defeated a team ranked this high.
NO. 4 KANSAS STATE 58, NO. 13 BAYLOR 55: In Waco, Texas, Eliza Maupin, Gabby Gregory and Serena Sundell each had 16 points and No. 4 Kansas State, playing without injured standout center Ayoka Lee, rallied late to extend its winning streak to 13 games with a victory over No. 13 Baylor.
With Baylor trying for a game-tying shot at the end, Jaelyn Glenn blocked a game-ending 3-point attempt by Dre’Una Edwards.
The Wildcats (19-1, 8-0 Big 12) had moved up three spots in the new Associated Press poll earlier Monday for their highest ranking since 2003. Plagued by turnovers, they trailed by 13 before halftime and hadn’t trailed since the game’s first two minutes before Maupin’s 3-pointer with 7:19 left.