Brawling Embarrassment

Anyone who followed college basketball on Saturday probably saw some upsets and good games, but they all will be overshadowed by what happened on the court of the Cintas Center and not for good reasons. A fight at a bar or party is one thing, still not good but certainly different. However, when you are on national television, in front of thousands of fans, and carry the name of your school on your chest then there's no excuse.

Whether this were in a game or not, it would be a bad thing, but the situation has only compounded the issue. When it came to the players, no side one. Cincinnati got things started by calling out Xavier player Tu Holloway before the game. While that can be good fun at times, don't do something like that and expect the other side to sit quietly and take it. They should, but don't expect it.

Both teams got down and dirtied their own reputations.
Al Behrman-Associated Press

Unfortunately, Holloway didn't as he was instigating the entire Cincy bench near the end of the game, and then things got way out of control. Yancy Gates blindsided Kenny Frease with a punch and Cheikh Mbodj literally tried to kick him while he was down. Then Gates looked to try and go on a rampage against the entire Xavier team.

Of course, Xavier is almost just as guilty given their taunts at the end, and, quite frankly, some poor words after the game by Holloway. "That's what you're going to see from Xavier and Cincinnati... We're a tougher team. We're grown men over here. We've got a whole bunch of gangstas in the locker room. Not thugs, but tough guys on the court."

So, not only is Holloway showing no remorse for his own lack of dignity on the court, but he's got the guts to continue to talk trash about the other team after the scuffle. I understand a heated rivalry, I've been a part of the Missouri and Kanasa rivalry, but that's not an excuse. Some jostling, a hard fought game, and the cheers and jeers of fans make a good rivalry. Holloway does mention letting your play do the talking, but he clearly had some extra words to go along with his play.

The only bright spot has come from the coaches thus far. This may seem like a "duh" kind of thing, but Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin's sincere frustration over the whole thing is good to see. Throughout his entire interview you can see the anger he has with his players and himself.

Coach Cronin won't take this lying down, and that's good
for everyone.

"I have never been this embarrassed in my entire career. It's a complete embarrassment. Toughness is doing the right thing. ... If my players don't act the right way, they will never play another game at Cincinnati."

He also mentioned how every player lost there jersey until this gets sorted out. That's a blow right there. Those players have lost a symbol of their identity. That's a very good demonstration by Coach Cronin that he won't take this from any of his players. His words were very strong after the game, and very nice to hear.

What will happen to the players on both teams remains to be seen, but both institutions should be outraged and the players ashamed. There's no place for this on any level, and if they are the "grown men" that Holloway claims, they have a strange way of showing it.