Bill Self and Shaka Smart had coached against each other plenty of times before last night’s Maui Invitational semifinal.
Despite their familiarity with each other, the two still had a contentious exchange during the first half of Marquette’s 71-59 win over top-ranked Kansas on Tuesday night.
After Kansas’ Kevin McCullar drilled a three-pointer near the Marquette bench, he did some trash talking toward Smart as he headed upcourt.
Smart and players from both teams had to be restrained from further confrontation, and the two coaches also exchanged words after cooler heads prevailed.
Shaka Smart is FIRED UP after the brief altercation in the first half with 3 minutes to go. Marquette is up, 33-28. pic.twitter.com/Y0hKaUaWve
— Krysten Peek (@krystenpeek) November 22, 2023
— wow that was crazy (@CowardlyDoggo) November 22, 2023
After the game, both coaches commented on the altercation, though Self’s response clearly seems to indicate some ongoing tension between the two.
“So Kevin McCullar is one of the best competitors I’ve coached against in a long time,” Smart said, via The Kansas City Star. “He played at Texas Tech and he always has brought an edge that is different. He’s always enjoyed having a dialogue with me. He probably does that with all coaches. That kind of started the little dust-up. Their bench got involved. Our bench got involved. At the end of the day it really had very little to do with the game.”
“I doubt it was accurate, just so you know, and I don’t even care,” Self said of Smart’s explanation of events. “I’m not going to talk about it but I guarantee it wasn’t accurate.”
“Shaka Smart said…” pic.twitter.com/TLoq7OaRUm
— We good? (@gifhawk2) November 22, 2023
Smart and the Golden Eagles will meet Purdue in the Maui Invitational title game at 5 p.m. ET today, while Self and the Jayhawks will face Tennessee in the third-place game at 2:30 p.m.