A rowdy celebration at the University of Maryland after the men’s basketball team upset No. 4 Duke resulted in the arrest of 27 people, the Prince George’s (Md.) County Police Department said Thursday.
The celebration began shortly after 11 p.m. Wednesday when hundreds of fans poured onto the floor of the Comcast Center when the game ended, then continued along Route 1 — the main strip of mostly bars and fast-food joints on the east side of the College Park campus.
The students and other revelers were met by police officers in riot-gear and on horseback who brought the estimated crowd of roughly 1,500 under control after about 90 minutes.
A county police spokesman said the arrests were for such offenses as vandalism and assaulting police officers. Officers occasionally clashes with those in the crowd, including some chanting “Let’s Go Maryland,” and throwing objects. Witnesses said officers used pepper spray to disperse the crowd. Police reported three minor injuries.
The 37,000-student university — a few miles outside of Washington, D.C. — has a reputation for rancorous behavior after basketball games, galvanized after a 2001 Final Four loss to Duke that was followed by a riot involving students burning stolen property on Fraternity Row.
However, such an outburst has not occurred at Maryland, which won the 2002 NCAA basketball championship, in the past four years.
University officials said Thursday students found to have taken part in the “riot-related behavior” will be suspended or expelled, even if they have not been convicted in a criminal court.
“The post-game behavior of some students is inconsistent with the high standards … that we have set at the University of Maryland, College Park,” said Millree Williams, a university public affairs official. “We will not let the poor behavior of a few taint the good behavior of many.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.