An Iowa fan and his phone got up close and personal with Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg on Tuesday night.
Hoiberg was not having it. He smacked the phone out of the fan’s hand as Iowa fans rushed the court during the postgame handshake line. He also inadvertently smacked an Iowa staffer in the back of his head on his follow-through. Hoiberg and the Iowa staffer quickly made nice.
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Video from the stands captured the incident.
The fan whose phone got smacked captured first-person footage.
The unidentified fan — or someone nearby — screamed, “Nice game, buddy!” in Hoiberg’s face just prior to the smack.
Hoiberg’s Cornhuskers were fresh off a 57-52 loss to the Hawkeyes. It was their fourth loss in six games following a 20-0 start. He was in no mood to be taunted.
Iowa, Big Ten respond: No discipline for Hoiberg
Iowa released a statement Wednesday afternoon addressing the court storm and the fan.
“Unfortunately, an individual gained access to the court through a restricted area, directly confronting Coach Hoiberg and putting Nebraska players, coaches and staff in a reactive situation,” the statement reads.
“We apologize for this incident and will conduct a review of our procedures and security measures to determine what adjustments may be needed to further strengthen our protocols and help prevent similar incidents in the future.”
The Big Ten issued a statement in response to Iowa’s announcing that it will not discipline Hoiberg for the phone smack.
“The conference has discussed the situation with both institutions, is taking no action in relation to Coach Hoiberg, and appreciates the efforts by Iowa’s administration to address postgame security protocols in the interest of preventing a similar occurrence from happening in the future,” the statement reads.
Nebraska did not publicly address the incident and previously directed questioning regarding it to the Big Ten.
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More court-storming drama
Tuesday’s court storm was the latest to raise the ire of a prominent head coach.
Duke head coach Jon Scheyer claimed after a last-second road loss to rival North Carolina on Feb. 7 that a member of his coaching staff “got punched in the face” in the ensuing court storm, leaving him with a bloody lip.
There’s so far been no footage or evidence to confirm Scheyer’s account, prompting Orange County District Attorney Jeff Nieman — a UNC graduate — to dispute Scheyer’s claim.
Tempers are flaring across college basketball, and it’s not even March yet.
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