Providence College students were caught up in ugly scenes before Saturday's grudge match against Georgetown, with fans seen trampling over each other as they scrambled to get inside the Amica Mutual Pavilion.
Images showed students falling down from the weight of their fellow Friars before one of the most hotly anticipated college basketball games of the season.
Security appeared to struggle maintaining order after students began lining up in the early hours of the morning to 'welcome' back former PC head coach Ed Cooley and the Hoyas of Georgetown.
Barstool Sports founder and New England native Dave Portnoy tweeted the video saying, 'People are going to die at the Dunk today' - referring to the venue's former name, the Dunkin' Donuts Center.
Providence fans still feel scorned by Cooley, a man who led the school for over a decade before becoming the first head coach in Big East Conference history to directly leave one school for another.
Providence kids are TRAMPLING each other to get into the AMP😮💨🫣
This game is going to be CRAZY.
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) January 27, 2024
Providence College students were seen falling over each other before a basketball game
The game was a return for Ed Cooley (center) to Providence after he left for Georgetown
Cooley rose to success with the Friars, but became the first Big East coach to swap schools
People are gonna die at the Dunk today pic.twitter.com/7Ptnp7F6aU
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) January 27, 2024Anticipation for this game has been building all season long - with tickets to this contest going for as high as four figures.
Cooley arrived in Providence in 2011 and led PC to both its first Sweet 16 since the 1990s and its only Big East regular season title back in 2022.
But just over a year after those feats, Cooley - a Providence native - left the school for Georgetown.
That's led to anger building among rowdy Friars fans all season long - leading to this afternoon when they packed Amica Mutual Pavilion early and made the atmosphere hostile hours before the game even began.
Once Cooley showed up, a chorus of boo's descended upon him as he was blanketed by security on his way to the floor.
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