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The college basketball world has turned its eyes to the NCAA Tournament, but there are fireworks taking place elsewhere around the country. Tonight’s rendition featured LSU head coach Will Wade delivering a fiery press conference following an 84-76 win over Louisiana in the first round of the NIT.
Take a look for yourself. It gets good at the 7:00 mark.
Wade certainly had some issues with the “shots” that the Louisiana program had been taking at LSU leading up to the game. The first year Tiger head coach had a lot to say about his program’s scheduling, resume, and even took to defending their home arena. Here’s a transcript of the rant:
Asked by a reporter "what shots ULL had taken" at LSU this week, Will Wade went on an epic rant.
— Cody Worsham (@CodyWorsham) March 15, 2018
I transcribed it for you, dear reader. Sit back with a beverage and enjoy. pic.twitter.com/E8sDXiWy9f
The heated words weren’t just limited to the postgame presser, though. The rift reached a boiling point late in the game after Wade called a timeout when the game was already out of hand. That caused the Louisiana staff to get off the bench, and Louisiana head coach Bob Marlin allegedly had to be held back in the situation. Here’s a brief video of the moment:
Will Wade timeout. Yells at Bob Marlin. Oh boy. pic.twitter.com/KuufTDR9fv
— Cody Worsham (@CodyWorsham) March 15, 2018
These are the kinds of things that can lead to great rivalries, especially between a mid-major and high-major in the same state. Hopefully this can turn into a recurring series between the two programs. For now, we’ll have to bask in the scathing diatribe from Wade tonight.