Fight between Auburn basketball players forces team flight to turn back: Reports
According to multiple reports, a fight between Auburn men's basketball players forced the team's flight to turn back shortly after takeoff on Friday night. The flight was bound for Houston, where the No. 11 Tigers are scheduled to play No. 4 Houston on Saturday.
WBRC in Birmingham, Alabama, reported that the pilot of the plane said "we have a bunch of basketball players fighting" to air traffic control. The pilot also reportedly said "we had 2 players that got into a physical altercation, clothes were ripped."
The incident reportedly escalated to a point where flight personnel decided to turn the flight around and ground it.
Auburn has since reboarded a flight for Houston.
NEW: Flight that appears to be the Auburn men's basketball team heading to Houston diverted back to Auburn this afternoon. Air Traffic Control audio we've obtained shows a pilot in that airspace telling ATC "we have a bunch of basketball players fighting"
— Jonathan Hardison (@WBRC6Hardison) November 9, 2024
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The game between the Tigers and Cougars is one of the most anticipated nonconference matchups of the college basketball season.
Auburn (1-0), comes into the game boasting one of its best rosters in program history, led by national player of the year candidate Johni Broome.
Houston (1-0) is a preseason favorite to win the national championship and returns four starters from a team that went 32-5 and won the Big 12.
The Houston vs. Auburn game is scheduled to tipoff at 8:30 p.m. CT on Saturday. It will be televised on ESPNU.
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Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. One of his favorite memories was covering the 1999 Fiesta Bowl - the first BCS National Championship Game - at Sun Devil Stadium.