Plane appearing to carry Auburn men’s basketball team diverted due to in-flight altercation: report

Auburn and Houston are set to meet in a battle of top basketball programs Saturday, but one team apparently got a little too rowdy a little too soon.

Reports say a pilot turned Auburn’s plane around because of an argument between players.

WBRC in Birmingham said a plane that appeared to be carrying the Tigers men’s basketball team traveling from Auburn to Houston diverted to Auburn several minutes into the flight after the pilot said there was “a bunch of basketball players who fought.”

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Neville Arena prior to a game between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Auburn Tigers on February 14, 2024 in Auburn, Ala. (Michael Chang/Getty Images)

The outlet reported that staff requested an emergency landing in Montgomery, but the plane instead landed in Auburn 40 minutes after takeoff.

The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did it confirm the incident.

Another report said no punches was thrown, but “guys got in each other’s faces.”

FlightAware displays one “diverted” flight left Auburn airport at 14.50 local time and landed at 3:30 p.m. The site says the last flight from Auburn to Houston on Friday was scheduled to leave at 18.55 and land an hour and 53 minutes later.

Head coach Bruce Pearl of the Auburn Tigers during a game against the Texas A&M Aggies. (Michael Chang/Getty Images)

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Three other flights on the same route earlier in the day went as planned, according to FlightAware.

Auburn is ranked No. 11 in the nation, and the Cougars are No. 4.

The Tigers were knocked out of the first round of the 2024 March Madness tournament as the No. 4 seed of no. 13 Yale. Houston was a no. 1 seed last year and fell to no. 4 Duke in the Sweet 16.

An Auburn Tigers logo on a pair of shorts during the second half of the Legends Classic against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish November 16, 2023 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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In 2023, the Cougars, a No. 1 seed, no. 9 Auburn out in the second round.

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