The first full week of the 2026-27 men's college basketball season was capped off by a highly anticipated matchup between No. 10 Virginia and No. 13 Arkansas in Washington, D.C on Sunday, Nov. 8.
It was the kind of game that everyone wanted to get in on the action for – and not just the nearly 11,000 fans who were inside Capital One Arena.
With 2:09 remaining in the second half, and with the Cavaliers nursing a comfortable 83-68 lead, the game was stopped briefly due to a pair of pigeons that had made their way onto the court.
"Billy Richmond just swatted at a bird!" "Cal is shooing the birds away!" No, these are not hyperbolic statements. Actual birds just flew on the court at the end of the Virginia/Arkansas game 😭 pic.twitter.com/O4UiQgQJ96
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) November 8, 2026
Initial attempts to shoo the birds away were unsuccessful. Razorbacks junior guard Billy Richmond III, apparently upset that something on the court could fly higher than him and his 41-inch vertical leap, lowered his left hand to hover above the court and try to usher the pigeons away. But he only moved them to a different portion of the court, where they continued to loiter.
Eventually, with the birds near the baseline, a group of three Arkansas players and a charging John Calipari were able to get them to fly off.
The pigeons flew toward the rafters and didn't appear to leave the arena, but the game was able to finish without any added interruptions beyond the referee's whistle.
Virginia finished off a dominant performance to earn a 91-72 victory. All five Cavaliers starters finished in double figures, led by Thijs De Ridder and Sam Lewis, who had 16 points apiece.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Virginia vs Arkansas men's basketball game was one for the birds – literally
