Auburn freshman Jahki Howard and senior Ja’Heim Hudson — both reserves — won’t play Saturday against Houston after their role in the plane incident that forced the Tigers to turn around and make an emergency landing Friday, according to multiple reports.
Howard and Hudson weren’t on Auburn’s second flight that arrived in Houston later that night, according to Field of 68, which had called the incident “horseplay” on Friday night.
While what transpired during the skirmish on the initial flight still remains unclear, an altercation in the air between at least Howard and Hudson prompted the Tigers to turn around shortly after they took off in the afternoon, and the pilot told air traffic control that there were a “bunch of basketball players fighting.”
“The flight deck is secure,” the pilot later told air traffic control,” according to WRBC News. “The threat level is contained for the moment. … We’ll have police on the ground, and we had two players that got into a physical altercation, clothes were ripped.”
Hudson transferred to Auburn in the offseason — with two years of eligibility remaining, according to the program’s commitment announcement — after two seasons with Georgia State and one with SMU, and he averaged 5.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game for the Mustangs last year.
Howard committed to the Tigers as a four-star recruit — and No. 85 overall in the Class of 2024 — and collected seven points and four rebounds in 19:39 off the bench during his Auburn debut.
Hudson recorded two points, two rebounds and two assists in just over 15 minutes of playing time to start his first season under head coach Bruce Pearl.
Auburn defeated Vermont, 94-43, in their season opener earlier this week, and the Tigers entered the showdown with No. 4 Houston ranked No. 11 in the country as they try to erase the lingering disappointment from a first-round upset against Yale in last year’s NCAA Tournament.
Miles Kelly led the Tigers with 21 points off the bench against Vermont, while Denver Jones added 16 points.
Houston, which advanced to the Sweet 16 last year before falling to Duke, opened its campaign with a 57-point win against Jackson State on Monday.
