Missouri coach Dennis Gates takes PA microphone to head off court-storming celebration

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — After Missouri basketball fans stormed the court following a victory over then-No. 1 Kansas on Dec. 8, Tigers coach Dennis Gates made sure there wouldn't be an encore after No. 15 Missouri beat No. 4 Alabama 110-98 on Wednesday night.

Gates called a timeout with 1.5 seconds remaining, and grabbed the public address microphone to emphatically tell the capacity crowd of 15,061 to stay off the court.

“Please, do not rush the court! Please, do not rush the court!” Gates said to the fans.

That was in sharp contrast to the Kansas game where Gates called a late timeout to give the Jayhawks' bench personnel a chance to safely leave the court, and was openly critical of Missouri for making an announcement for fans not to rush the court.

Missouri was fined $250,000 after the Kansas game, and faces a $500,000 fine for a second offense. In Southeastern Conference play, the fine is paid to the opposing school.

“We need that money to go to NIL,” Gates said. “We don’t need to be getting fines out there. But, to safety, I hope that becomes a normal thing when you are excited, which I credit our crowd for being. I just didn’t want us to rush the court and get a fine.”

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