Things got heated between the USC men's basketball team and some University of Purdue fans at the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday ... and the conference tells TMZ Sports it's taking swift action to ensure it doesn't happen again.
The tense moment went down following the Trojans' 76-71 loss to the Boilermakers in the second round ... with cameras catching the team being restrained in the tunnel.
According to a Big Ten spokesperson, "There was a verbal exchange near the entrance to the tunnel between members of the Trojans staff and a handful of fans ticketed in courtside club seats who also had access to the area.