Looks Like Alabama’s Security Didn’t Need the Court Storming Practice After All

Court storming.

Should it be banned? Should it continue with new rules? Left as it is? Does Jay Bilas still want students arrested for stepping on the court?

While the discussion has been dying down a little bit in the last few days, the court-storming conversation has been circulating the sports media world and on social media lately with the two recent incidents involving Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and Duke’s Kyle Filipowski. Both players had an incident with opposing fans during court-storming moments in the last few weeks but neither suffered a serious injury that kept them out of games moving forward. Both Clark and Filipowski are set to lead the respective teams into the NCAA men’s and women’s tournaments in the next few weeks.

Still, though, programs around the nation are locking in on security protocols revolving around court-storming procedures as the regular season wins down, and that includes the Alabama Crimson Tide.

With College GameDay at Alabama for the Crimson Tide’s game against Tennessee this past weekend in Tuscaloosa, the SEC Network posted a video of Alabama’s security practicing court-storming measures in anticipation that it may need to be used against the Volunteers.

As the title says, it looks like Alabama’s security didn’t need the court-storming practice after all. With only one home game left against unranked Arkansas, the Tennessee game was Alabama’s only reasonable chance to storm the court. But after Tennessee’s win against the Tide in Tuscaloosa in primetime on Saturday, the parking lot was the only place being stormed inside the city when the clock struck zero.

Tennessee achieved a huge win over Alabama, 81-74, thus taking over sole possession of the top spot in the SEC standings over the Crimson Tide.

Court-storming prevention. One way to do it

This is from Alabama today, according to @SECNetwork pic.twitter.com/ekjuNeyR0E

— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) March 3, 2024

More from RTI: Tennessee Guard Dalton Knecht Splits SEC Player Of The Week Honors

Tennessee’s win capped off a week in which the Vols went 2-0 against the SEC’s Alabama state teams.

Rick Barnes’ unit earned a strong eight-point win over No. 11 Auburn in Knoxville this past Wednesday and then followed that up with a seven-point over No. 14 Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Saturday night with Nick Saban, Jalen Milroe, and Kalen DeBoer. The pair of wins from Tennessee was enough to give the Vols the top spot in the SEC rankings with two games left on the regular season schedule:

• Tennessee (23-6, 13-3 SEC)
  • at South Carolina, vs Kentucky
• South Carolina (24-5, 12-4 SEC)
  • vs Tennessee, at Mississippi State
• Alabama (20-9, 12-4 SEC)
  • at Florida, vs Arkansas
• Auburn (22-7, 11-5 SEC)
  • at Missouri, vs Georgia
• Kentucky (21-8, 11-5 SEC)
  • vs Vanderbilt, at Tennessee
• Florida (20-9, 10-6 SEC)
  • vs Alabama, at Vanderbilt

Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more on the tight race in the SEC standings as the regular season wins down and the postseason previews heat up.