by Fitzgerald Cecilio

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski got into a shouting match with one of the fans that rushed to the court after his team's loss to Virginia, 73-68.

He was so upset at the Virginia fans storming the court that he reportedly cursed at them.

Krzyzewski was then confronted by a rabid Virginia fan and reportedly traded expletives before policemen and arena security guards rushed in to separate the two and escort the former to the locker room.

"We always get yelled at. I've been called more things, about my mother or my kids; that's something that's happened for 25 years. That means nothing. Safety is something, and that's what I'm talking about," he quipped.

Duke has lost four games this season, each on the road, and fans stormed the court at every venue.

"When we've lost in the last 20 years, everybody rushes the court," Krzyzewski insisting he was raising a concern but not trying to take away from Virginia's victory.

"Whatever you're doing, you need to get the team off first," Krzyzewski told the News Observer. "Look, celebrate, have fun, obviously you won, that's cool. Just get our team off the court and our coaching staff before students come on."

He added, "I'm not saying any fan did this, but the potential is there all the time for a fan to just go up to you and say, 'Coach you're a [expletive],' or push you or hit you. And what do you do? What if you did something? That would be the story. We deserve that type of protection."

Yellow-shirted stadium security actually made a human wall around the Duke basketball team as University of Virginia fans stormed the court. However, the wall wasn't assembled immediately.

Before the court storming incident, Cavaliers fans behind the Duke bench were heckling Krzyzewski waiving a big head photo of the coach.

Duke All-American candidate Mason Plumlee says it's a scary situation for players.

He said they were geetting tweets threatening them of bodily harm, like being hit on the groin. Then they have people they don't know run up to them.

"You don't know what's going to happen; guys should be defensive. Half these people are drunk. You don't know what's going to happen," he said.

In January, North Carolina Coach Roy Williams pulled most of his players and staff off the floor at the conclusion of a loss at Florida State, leaving substitutes on the floor to finish the game. Earlier in the season, the Tar Heels coach said a female manager was knocked down by fans storming the court.

Williams said he apologized to his players, stating, "'Guys, I apologize ... I would never have left you out there to play the game.'"

The Atlantic Coast Conference said it will consider instating financial penalties -- like the SEC -- to schools when their fans rush the court or football field after a game. The SEC, which instituted its policy in 2004, is the only conference with such a rule.

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ACC May Implement Court Storming Fines After Krzyzewski Incident