March Madness Started Early After Maryland Beat Duke

March Madness got off to an early start after the University of Maryland men's basketball team beat arch rival Duke 79-72 Wednesday night.

Fans, many of them Maryland students, took to the streets near the campus for a riotous celebration. Meanwhile, police in riot gear and on horses tried to contain the exuberance, in some instances physically, as the video below shows.

I was at the game, which pulsated with drama the whole way through in the way of great Atlantic Coast Conference matchups in early March.

We should have known what was about to happen outside the arena from the reaction inside Comcast Center as the buzzer sounded.

Fans in yellow t-shirts swarmed onto the court, mobbing the players, coaches and the ESPN sportscasters at court side, Jay Bilas and Dan Shulman. In fact, one over-the-top fan even threw himself at Bilas, momentarily dislodging his headset. Fans of Erin Andrews, ESPN's court-side reporter, will be glad to know she escaped unscathed.

Police reported that 27 people were arrested. U of M officials issued a statement:

In the aftermath of last night's exciting win for the men's basketball team, there were several incidents representing poor judgment on the part of those participating in the postgame celebration. The postgame behavior of some students is inconsistent with the high standards - in academics, attitudes, and in behaviors - that we have set at the University of Maryland College Park. We will not let the poor behavior of a few taint the good behavior of many.

The University of Maryland has policies that provide the authority, with police documentation and following due process, to suspend or expel a student for riot-related behavior whether or not he or she has been convicted in a criminal court.