St. John’s basketball fight with Providence could bring suspensions

The Big East is known for being a hotly contested conference in college basketball, and during Saturday’s St. John’s vs. Providence game, tempers flared to a shocking level.

A massive fight occurred during the game’s second half involving multiple players. It ultimately resulted in a 19-minute delay before the order was restored on the court, allowing the game to continue.

The incident occurred as the Red Storm’s Bryce Hopkins was attempting a layup. Providence Friars player Duncan Powell committed a hard foul from behind him, and a brawl ensued with multiple players involved in a significant scuffle.

A video spotlights the huge incident during Saturday’s game in Providence. As seen in the clip, Hopkins took exception to Powell’s hard foul and went at it with Powell. However, Powell took a swing, and the wild fight continued as coaches and other players attempted to separate the fighting college basketball players.

Powell is a transfer from Georgia Tech, playing for Rick Pitino’s Red Storm this season. He had three points, five rebounds, and an assist at the time of his ejection.

He wasn’t the only ejection after the messy brawl cleared from the court. In addition, his teammate Jaylin Sellers was ejected. The Red Storm had multiple players ejected for their roles or interactions in the brawl. Mitchell got tossed along with Kelvin Odih, Ruben Prey, and Sadiku Ibine Ayo.

Before the time the game was over, there were several more ejections. Providence’s Jamier Jones was also ejected later in the second half in an incident unrelated to the initial fight.

That wasn’t all: another player, St. John’s forward Joson Sanon, was ejected for a technical foul with over three minutes remaining in the game. Once the buzzer sounded, St. John’s won 79-68, and the Red Storm quickly left the court for the locker room with no postgame handshakes or interviews.

Heading into Saturday’s game, Rick Pitino’s Red Storm were contending with the UConn Huskies for the Big East Conference. Earlier this month, the upset then-No. 3 UConn in a battle at Madison Square Garden. However, now their lineup is in jeopardy, as is Providence’s.

There will be plenty of time to review what occurred in Saturday’s basketball fight and assess potential suspensions. St. John’s plays at Marquette on Feb. 18, while Providence next plays Feb. 21 at DePaul.

For more about college basketball, head over to Newsweek Sports.

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