Minnesota fan confronts Matt Haarms as students storm court after beating Purdue

After a tough loss for Purdue at Minnesota Tuesday night that denied the Boilermakers' bid for an outright Big Ten title, things could have gotten a lot worse if cooler heads had not prevailed.

As Gophers fans rushed the floor after the final buzzer sounded on Minnesota's 73-69 victory, one fan confronted Matt Haarms, who had missed seven of his eight shots and finished with just three points.

The fan appeared to offer Haarms a ... less than kind hand gesture.

The Boilermakers, who had their five-game winning streak broken and lost for only the second time in their last 15 games, fell into a three-way tie for first place in the conference with Michigan and Michigan State. 

Haarms' response was applauded on Twitter, while the actions of the fan were highly criticized.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.