The Auburn men’s basketball team will be a little late when they enter Houston.
The Tigers’ flight west had to be reversed due to “horseplay” midway through the trip between a group of players, which could have escalated into a fight, according to Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman. He later reported that there was yelling and players hitting each other in the face, but no actual punches were thrown.
The Auburn flight reportedly traveled 45 minutes before returning home, with another flight to Houston scheduled for later Friday. Auburn tips off against No. 4 Houston on Saturday at 9:30 PM ET.
Maroon plane returned home due to horseplay between players on the flight that could have escalated into a fight, source said @HetVeldOf68.
Auburn was on the road for about 45 minutes and had to return home. Source said they are expected to take another plane to Houston later…
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) November 9, 2024
One can only wonder if Bruce Pearl said the words, “Stop yelling or I’ll turn this plane over.”
One of the pilots involved reportedly described the incident as a fight with air traffic control, but we don’t know if that person actually saw anything. There is also a report from a social media account created last month that identified a group of three players who had gotten into a physical altercation, but that has not been confirmed in any way.
NEW: The flight that appears to be the Auburn men’s basketball team headed to Houston was diverted to Auburn this afternoon. Air traffic control audio we obtained shows a pilot in that airspace telling ATC, “There are some basketball players fighting.”
We contacted…— Jonathan Hardison (@WBRC6Hardison) November 9, 2024
All of this suddenly makes Auburn’s player usage very interesting when it faces Houston. Presumably Pearl will be reluctant to use players who threw such a big wrench into the team’s travel plans, but you never know.
Auburn opened the season with a 94-43 win over Vermont on Wednesday and is currently ranked No. 11 in the AP Poll. Houston is currently a -225 moneyline favorite at BetMGM, with a 5.5-point spread.
