The annual Sunflower Showdown ended up resembling a Royal Rumble rather than a college basketball game at Phog Allen Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Kansas Tuesday.
In the final seconds of a Jayhawk 81-60 victory over Kansas State, KSU point guard DaJuan Gordon stole the ball for a fast break layup. Gordon's shot was blocked by Kansas defender Silvio De Sousa. De Sousa then proceeded to stand over Gordon, who was laying on the court after the physical play.
A brawl ensued between the schools, which spilled over into the court-side seats.
Multiple video angles from inside Phog Allen shows the incident, but with various videos showing different aggressors, who is really at fault for the fallout in Lawrence, Kansas?
The Big 12 and NCAA acted quickly with their punishment on Wednesday, partly because every Wednesday the basketball coaches and commissioner of the Big 12 have a national teleconference.
"I have had the chance to review (the video)," Kansas head coach Bill Self said. "We all have, the university has, everybody has reviewed all angles that you could possibly have - much more than what probably the general public has. There will be consequences as I stated. Regardless of any of that, there will be consequences and there will be penalties. I'm not at liberty nor do I know at this particular moment what will be appropriate at this time because we are still in the process of discussing it.
"As I said last night, we are disappointed in his actions and there is no place in the game for that behavior."
De Sousa has been suspended indefinitely by the University of Kansas. At one point during the melee, De Sousa is seen holding a stool over his head before Jayhawk assistant coach Jerrance Howard grabs it from him.
Wildcats' James Love and David Sloan were in the middle of the brawl, defending their teammate Gordon.
"The players told me they went on the court because they thought the game was over," Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber said on Wednesday during the Big 12 media teleconference.
So as the NCAA and Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby reviews all of the evidence, besides, De Sousa, who else should be reprimanded?
Ultimately, the final verdict is in their hands but these are also student-athletes; that alone should also be taken into consideration.
In my opinion, part of going to college is learning about yourself and maturing through adversity. Last night was a small taste of adversity for the Jayhawks and Wildcats.
Maybe De Sousa taunting Gordon was too much, lifting of the chair was a little too far, however he's still a young man - a student-athlete - who was being attacked.
This is just another black eye for a blue-blood program in Kansas. First, there's accusations of foul play, then the incident with recruits, Snoop Dogg and professional dancers, now this.
As I stated earlier, these are student-athletes and I hope one small instance won't define their collegiate careers.