Missouri basketball had quite a night on Wednesday, pulling out a win over No. 4 Alabama at home at the Mizzou Arena.
Ranked No. 15 in the nation, the Tigers took down the Crimson Tide by a score of 110–98, providing them with another impressive win over one of the top programs in the country.
Despite having the game in hand as the final moments ticked away, Missouri head coach Dennis Gates called a timeout with one second left on the clock. It was not to make any comically late game adjustments, or to sub in some seniors: it was a financial decision.
When the whistle blew for his timeout, Gates grabbed the in-arena microphone and pleaded with the crowd.
“Please, do not rush the court! Please, do not rush the court!” Gates said, earning boos from the fans who were clearly eager to do just that.
While it’s easy to think that Gates was just being a buzzkill, his plea to the crowd was twofold. First, holding off fans from rushing the court allows the opposing team the chance to get off the floor safely before chaos erupts.
Safety may come first, but it’s likely the biggest thing on Gates’s mind was money. Missouri had already received a $250,000 fine for when their crowd stormed the court after a win over No. 1 Kansas back in December. The fine doubles to $500,000 for a second offense. In the age of NIL, that half a million dollars makes one heck of a difference in the transfer portal.
“We need that money to go to NIL,” Gates told reporters after the game when asked about his decision to get on the mic. “We don’t need to be getting fines out there. But the safety [as well]. 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 the fine.
“I wasn’t trying to take any fun away from them, but I hope they’re ready for next week as well. I kind of want them to keep that energy up and continue to do the things that they do to impact the game.”
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