Ed Cooley didn’t have time for the postgame handshake line.
The Georgetown coach instead exited the court and beelined for a Xavier fan in a stunning scene after the Hoyas’ 74-69 road loss on Tuesday night.
The FS1 broadcast did not capture much of what happened but Cooley accused the fan of “verbally attacking” one of his players.
“In tonight’s game, an opposing team fan was verbally attacking one of my players. While nothing physical happened, I will always protect my players if they are threatened,” Cooley said in a statement posted to X after the game.
“I have nothing but respect for Xavier and its fanbase, and I want to congratulate the Musketeers on the win. I’m proud of how hard our players fought, and now we look to the next game this Saturday as we host Seton Hall back at home.”
The Big East clash ended with Georgetown missing a 3 on the side of the court in front of its bench and Cooley promptly walked toward the crowd with his hands extended in a “what” gesture while the buzzer sounded.
Georgetown wing Micah Peavy watched the final shot clank off the rim before immediately turning his direction toward the baseline and started into the fans while walking toward Cooley.
FS1 then cut to Xavier coach Sean Miller walking toward the Georgetown bench before the announcer alerted the fans of what was happening away from the cameras.
“Uh, oh. Ed Cooley and a fan are going at it,” the announcer said.
The “broadcast then cut to Georgetown assistant Kenny Johnson seemingly attempt to box out others from approaching a bald Xavier fan, before another Georgetown staffer came over and seemingly yelled at the fan.
Xavier athletic director Greg Christopher put his arm on the fan’s chest while the man yelled toward the Hoyas staffer. Christopher then stood in front of the man with his arms on both of his shoulders and attempted to calm him down.
“Ed Cooley and a fan are face to face down in the baseline. Malik Mack and Thomas Sorber were down there too,” the announcer said.
“A couple of the Georgetown assistants come in and box ‘em out of there and Xavier ends this game with a little mix-up between a Xavier fan and the Georgetown staff.”
Johnson walled off any Georgetown players or staffers from talking to the fan before pointing for them to go in the other direction, and Cooley eventually made his way to Miller for a postgame hug.
Xavier improved to 14-9 and 6-6 in conference play with the win while it attempts to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes Alvie, while Georgetown fell to 14-9 and 5-7 in Big East action.
