Louisville-Kentucky effect: Spitting, TBT tussle

• Myron Medcalf, ESPN Personnel WriterJul 30, 2024, 09:23 AM ET

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  • Covers college basketball
  • Joined ESPN.com in 2011
  • Graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato

In basketball, if Louisville and Kentucky are on the court, drama will likely ensue.That been true Monday night, when a game at The Basketball Tournament between La Familia, a group consisted of previous Kentucky players, and The Ville, a team featuring former Louisville players, ended with a near-brawl following a spitting incident.Andrew Harrison,

who helped lead Kentucky to the 2014 and 2015 Last Four, hit the game-winning 3-pointer in La Familia’s 70-61 success(Elam ending)at Flexibility Hall in Louisville. The crowd of 13,506 nearly doubled the previous record(7,202)for the winner-take-all $1 million tournament.During the celebration, La Familia’s Nate Sestina, who

led all scorers with 22 points, embraced The Ville’s Chinanu Onuaku, who informed Sestina to stop utilizing the”L’s down”gesture to mock Louisville.Onuaku, per video of the occurrence, informed Sestina, “Don’t do that again, “before he spat in his face.” Feelings ran high,”said Sestina, who verified that Onuaku had spat at him.” That’s what this game does to individuals. It had actually been fantastic chatter the whole game, absolutely nothing crazy, absolutely nothing individual. And after that it got individual, undoubtedly. That’s what this game is. “Gamers from both teams then began pressing and pushing one another as security officials and police officers stepped in between them to avoid additional escalation.Onuaku on Tuesday issued an apology on social media.”I want to excuse my actions following last night’s game,”Onuaku posted to X.”I let my emotions and pride for my university overcome me in the minute. I like my UofL and I love this town. L’s up.”It was simply the current dustup in the rivalry.Former Kentucky coach Eddie Sutton when called Louisville” little brother” during an interview. In 1989, Louisville’s Boo Maker captured Kentucky’s Sean Woods underneath

the basket and tossed him over his shoulder. And during the 2015-16 season, Rick Pitino, who has actually won nationwide titles at both schools, was coaching the Cardinals at Rupp Arena when he was accused of utilizing a profane gesture as he left the court( Pitino rejected it ). On Monday, former NBA stars were on both sides. Montrezl Harrell, who bet the Philadelphia 76ers in 2022-23, led a Louisville team that likewise featured Peyton Siva and Russ Smith, two stars on the 2013 national

title team. La Familia included previous NBA players such as Willie Cauley-Stein and Eric Bledsoe, who was on the NBA All-Defensive first team in 2018-19. Cauley-Stein, who last played in the NBA throughout the 2021-22 season, stated he accepted play in TBT since of Monday’s match with Louisville’s alumni group.”This game right here that we simply played was the factor that I decided to come play

, “Cauley-Stein said. “This thing is different. I understood it was going to sell out. … There is no other sensation like that. It took ten years to get that sensation back. I’m going to ride it for the next couple of days for sure.”La Familia advances to the quarterfinals of TBT.Following the postgame shoving match, Sestina didn’t back down on his view of the rivalry. “L’s down, “he said. “Always.”