Auburn and Houston will meet in a battle of basketball's top programs on Saturday, but apparently one team got too loud too soon.
Reports say a pilot turned Auburn's plane around due to an altercation between players.
WBRC in Birmingham said a plane that appeared to be carrying the Tigers men's basketball team, which was traveling from Auburn to Houston, was diverted to Auburn several minutes after the pilot said there was “a group of basketball players fighting.”
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Neville Arena before a game between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Auburn Tigers on Feb. 14, 2024, in Auburn, Alabama. (Michael Chang/Getty Images)
The outlet reported that staff requested an emergency landing in Montgomery, but the plane landed in Auburn 40 minutes after takeoff.
The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment or confirm the incident.
Another report said no punches were thrown, but “the boys got into each other.”
FlightAware shows that a “diverted” flight left Auburn Airport at 2:50 p.m. local time and landed at 3:30 p.m. The site says the last flight from Auburn to Houston on Friday was scheduled to depart at 6: 55 pm and landing one hour and 53 minutes later.
Head coach Bruce Pearl of the Auburn Tigers during a game against the Texas A&M Aggies. (Michael Chang/Getty Images)
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Three other flights on the same route that same day went ahead as planned, according to FlightAware.
Auburn is ranked No. 11 in the country and the Cougars are No. 4.
The Tigers were eliminated from the first round of the 2024 March Madness tournament as a No. 4 seed by No. 13 Yale. Houston was the No. 1 seed last year and fell to No. 4 Duke in the Sweet 16.
An Auburn Tigers logo on a pair of shorts during the second half of the Legends Classic against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on November 16, 2023, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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In 2023, the No. 1-seeded Cougars defeated No. 9 Auburn in the second round.
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