Crowds of proud Badgers peacefully flooded State Street Saturday night in celebration of the men’s basketball team’s victory against the University of Kentucky, drawing praise from law enforcement.
The crowd was relatively well-behaved, with only one report of an accidental minor injury and no property damage or arrests, Madison Police Department Lt. Kelly Donahue said.
The UW Police Department also did not report any issues. UWPD Public Information Officer Marc Lovicott said the department had prepared all week while keeping last year’s more turbulent crowds in mind, working closely with MPD and focusing on campus safety.
Instead of last year’s spontaneous influx of venting students, UW-Madison junior Jake Ziegler said students this year had high energy but were more controlled.
UW-Madison freshman Tara Saye said crowd surfing was the most disruptive behavior. Other than making sure nobody was injured while participating, Saye said law enforcement could be seen high-fiving students while standing on the outskirts of the crowd.
“It really shows how much of a community there is here, and how much spirit this school has and how proud we all are to be Badgers,” Saye said.
Ziegler said he hopes students mirror Saturday’s behavior in the case Wisconsin loses the championship game rather than react like other losing universities have.
Assistant News Editor Cheyene Miller at University of Kentucky’s student newspaper, the Kentucky Kernel, said riots, 31 arrests and at least three injuries resulted after the Saturday loss. People were seen burning shirts, boxes and a Wisconsin flag while police in riot gear arrested the most disruptive participants.
Miller said this kind of behavior is expected for most matches nearing the championship game, especially police in full riot gear and setting articles of clothing on fire.
Madison law enforcement has prepared plans that are being “ironed out” for the expected championship game celebration, according to Lovicott, who said he is looking forward to Madison’s spirited reaction.
Dana Kampa contributed to this article.
