Kansas players leave the court after the Jayhawk's 77-52 loss to the Temple Owls Monday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA. In the foreground from center are Cliff Alexander (2) Kelly Oubre, Jr. (12) and Jamari Traylor (31).

Some Kansas University basketball fans on social media have been grumbling about West Virginia’s fans storming the court after the Mountaineers’ 62-61 victory over KU in WVU Coliseum.

After all, West Virginia entered Monday’s game ranked 23rd in the AP poll, while the Jayhawks checked in at No. 8. The Mountaineers were a mere 1.5-point underdog, meaning the result did not classify as a monumental upset.

“As fans of the program and whatnot, you should be proud that people storm the court whenever somebody knocks us down, because it means a lot to those respective people because it’s a big game,” KU coach Bill Self said Tuesday on his weekly “Hawk Talk” radio show.

“I don’t know how many games we’ve lost in league play since I’ve been here (37 on the road in 12 seasons). I bet the court has been stormed 70 percent of those times whenever somebody knocks us off. That’s OK,” Self added.

Though court storming can be seen as a compliment to KU, Self says he could do without it on the occasions the Jayhawks lose a game.

“I don’t personally like it, but the only reason I don’t like it is the simple reason I’m always nervous somebody is going to get hurt,” Self said.

Indeed, KU’s Frank Mason III conceivably could have been injured Monday, as he was caught in the middle of the mob scene after the final horn. Mason wasn’t pleased about having to dodge the masses, but he escaped to the locker room without injury or incident.

“All it takes is one student who maybe had a beverage snuck in during the game to chicken-wing a player,” Self said. “You chicken-wing a guy, next thing you know you have a situation like Nebraska-Missouri football (in which an NU player slugged an MU fan who stormed the field in 2003). It wouldn’t take anything.

“You talk about an athlete showing restraint … if somebody were to hit him, chicken-wing him, think about a guy that strong defending himself. Or your instincts are such if somebody (fan) were to hit you, you react in a way somebody could really, really be hurt and be hurt bad.

“If you are going to allow it — the SEC fines schools who storm — make sure you have the right security in place, game-day management people in place so you can protect the participants, because that could create a nasty scene for somebody to do that.”

KU associate AD Jim Marchiony, who has been at KU since August 2003, said he has never heard of a movement in the Big 12 to penalize schools if fans storm the court.

Of course, KU does not have to worry about the issue in Allen Fieldhouse. Aside from one win in the 15-year Roy Williams era, in which 20 or so students moseyed onto the court after a victory over Texas, there has never been even a possibility of court storming after a KU victory.

“We are not worried about it because our fans are used to seeing us win, they expect us to win, and they have too much respect for Naismith Court and Allen Fieldhouse to rush the court,” Marchiony said.

On a lighter note, Self said he approved of the one time KU fans stormed the court at Allen.

“After the national championship game. That was pretty cool. I wasn’t even there to enjoy it,” Self said.

The 10,000 or so fans who watched KU’s victory over Memphis in the 2008 title game on the center videoboard in Allen indeed gathered on the court once the horn sounded in KU’s 75-68 overtime win in San Antonio.