The game and brawl took place on December 10, 2011, at Xavier's home arena, the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States.

[2] The first sign of trouble occurred in the closing seconds of the first half, when Bearcat backup Octavius Ellis began exchanging some words with Xavier player Mark Lyons from the bench.

Before the start of the second half, according to Xavier coach Chris Mack, both teams were warned that any further incident would result in technical fouls.

As Holloway walked to the other end of the court, he began shouting at the Bearcat bench, bringing UC's Ge'Lawn Guyn over to confront him and triggering an argument between both men.

[5] Referees Michael Roberts, Jeff Anderson, and Tony Crisp ended the game with 9.4 seconds remaining, giving Xavier the 76–53 win.

In his postgame comments, a visibly angry Cronin said that he told his players not to put them on again "until they have a full understanding of where they go to school and what the university stands for and how lucky they are to even be there, let alone have a scholarship."

Cronin also appeared to blame the referees for not taking control of the situation sooner (threats of technicals after the first-half incident notwithstanding), saying that Xavier players were yelling at his bench for the whole game and even cursing at his coaches.

Cronin said he tried to call a time-out before the brawl broke out so the players could go to their respective benches, but couldn't get the officials' attention.

Mack was somewhat more restrained in his remarks, saying he wasn't "in a position to be a decision maker," but that his players needed to learn "how to handle themselves and not let that happen again."

UC's Williams strongly supported Cronin's postgame remarks, saying that the brawl was "not what we expect of representatives of the University of Cincinnati" and that school officials would "act swiftly and firmly" to ensure it would never happen again.

[12] Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters said he was considering filing criminal charges related to the brawl.

Under Ohio law, Deters' office would handle the case if the charges rose to the level of felonies; Cincinnati city solicitor John Curp would prosecute if they are only misdemeanors.

Mack said, "We were all embarrassed by our behavior last weekend," and added, "It's extremely disappointing and in no way was a representation of what our university and our basketball program is all about.

Player and fan behavior was extensively reevaluated after the 2013 game, and was said to be a major factor in the decision to continue the series beyond the 2013–14 season.