A controversial foul added two-tenths of a second to the clock, resulting in a premature celebration and a hefty $25,000 fine for UCF.
As the clock approached zero, UCF students lined up as close to the court as possible to be ready for a storming.
As time ran out, the students rushed the court to celebrate with the players before referee Tony Padilla called an inconsequential foul with just 0.2 seconds to play.
Students were ushered off the court, as junior forward LeJuan Watts stepped up to the free-throw line. Watts went 1-of-2, and students gathered to return to their court storming festivities after an official 88-80 Knights win.
Apart from a unique story, the double court-storming is now providing something else for UCF - a $25,000 fine.
The Big 12 announced Tuesday that the program would be fined, releasing a statement via X. "In accordance with Big 12 Conference Principles and Standards of Sportsmanship, the Conference has issued a $25,000 fine of UCF for the court storming prior to the conclusion of Saturday’s men’s basketball victory over No. 11 Texas Tech."
Many college basketball fans, even outside of UCF, are upset.
Jason Scheer, senior editor and publisher of WildcatAuthority.com, wrote via X, "Does Tony Padilla get a cut of this?"
Fining for court storming has become a more common practice by these major conferences, as they have tried to emphasize player safety and health.
Back in 2024, Duke star forward Kyle Filipowski was injured during a court storming, following a Wake Forest upset win over the No. 8 ranked Blue Devils.
"It's just really ridiculous how that situation is handled," Filipowski told WFMY News after the game. "I absolutely feel like it was personal. Intentional for sure. Like I said, there's no reason where they see a big guy like me trying to work my way off the court and they can't just work around me, you know? There's no excuse for that."
The SEC is one conference that has put its foot down with court storming rules. Back in May, the conference raised the fines for court or field storming to $500,000, setting a precedent for other conferences to follow.
But, much of the displeasure surrounding this specific instance revolves around Padilla and why he felt the need to add milliseconds back to the game clock.
CFBKnights wrote via X, "Oh c’mon this is ridiculous, Tony Padilla should have to pay this. He called a timeout with .2 seconds left intentionally when there was no way to win the game."
Player safety remains a valid and necessary concern. But in this case, a moment that posed little risk turned into a costly punishment, making UCF’s celebration feel less like a safety issue and more like an outlier defined by 0.2 seconds.