Police fired tear gas on an overzealous crowd at the Texas Tech campus celebrating the school's basketball team's big win on Saturday night.
The No. 3-seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders advanced to the championship final of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament after defeating top-seeded Michigan State Spartans, 61-51. The team earned a shot at playing Virginia for the big win in men’s college basketball.
The campus crowd "devolved into rowdiness and destruction" and witnesses "reported seeing fires set ablaze, with at least one car being flipped over," reported the New York Post.
Lubbock, Texas, police, many in riot gear, sprayed tear gas on the crowd to get them to leave.
A local newspaper dubbed the scene “fandemonium."
“I’ve never seen anything like this in Lubbock,” Tim Hays, a Texas Tech student, told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. “I’ve been to other rallies like this, but nothing compares to the electricity here."
The Lubbock Police Department posted on Facebook: “Alright folks, we are just as happy that Texas Tech WRECKED Michigan State...but we are asking people to leave the area. We have multiple officers in the area clearing the scene."
“The large crowds are causing a safety concern."
City officials also issued a statement, saying, “After the Texas Tech Men’s Basketball team defeated Michigan State in a NCAA Championship Final Four game, hundreds of fans gathered. The crowd engaged in extremely dangerous, and disappointing, behavior including vandalizing property.
"We are proud, and excited, for Texas Tech, but behavior like this will not be tolerated. We want Red Raider fans to support the team and celebrate lawfully and responsibly. We are on the national stage so make Lubbock proud.”
There was no immediate information about arrests or injuries, reported the Post.