Old rivalries die hard.
A scuffle broke out Monday night between mid-2010s Kentucky players — “La Familia” — and Louisville basketball alumni — The Ville” — in the former Wildcats’ 70-64 win in The Basketball Tournament.
Former Kentucky star Nate Sestina claimed the brawl was ignited when Chinanu Onuaku spit at him.
“Emotions ran high, that’s what this game does to people,” Sestina said postgame, per on3. “It had been great chatter the whole game, nothing crazy, nothing personal. And then it got personal, obviously.
“Ls down versus Ls up, that’s what this game is. (Onuaku) was just like, ‘Don’t do Ls down in here’ and I was just like ‘All right.’ Ls down always …. S–t, the win’s great.”
In a video posted on X by Louisville sports anchor Kinisey Lee, Onuaku does appear to spit on Sestina as Sestina attempts to shake hands after the hard-fought win.
Ex-NBA player Willie Cauley-Stein quickly got in the middle of the altercation, which seemed to escalate from there as pushing and shoving ensued.
It does not appear that any punches were thrown as cooler heads ultimately prevailed.
Ex-Kentucky guard Andrew Harrison clinched the win with a 3-pointer.
La Familia, a team featuring Eric Bledsoe, Daniel Orton, Andrew and Aaron Harrison and Cauley-Stein, will now enter the semifinals of the 64-team bracket.
They will take on Carmen’s Crew, a team consisting of Ohio State alums, led by ex-first round pick Jared Sullinger. The winning team gets a winner-take-all grand prize of $1 million.
The league features a target score at the end of games rather than playing against the clock in a normal 5-on-5 basketball scenario.