After Kentucky’s loss: fires, fights and arrests (VIDEOS)

Thousands of Kentucky fans shared the suspense, and then the grief, of Saturday night's game after cramming into bars, yards and viewing parties at the Kentucky Theatre and other locations.

On State Street, which had been the epicenter of previous post-game celebrations, downcast expressions and stunned silence quickly gave way to chants of "(expletive) Wisconsin."

Bottles were thrown into the air and fires were set and quickly extinguished by firefighters, who asked for police escorts into the rowdy crowd.

There were several reports of assaults, and fights, and reports of people with minor injuries, such as facial lacerations, a head injury and a foot injury from broken glass.

City officials said 29 people had been arrested, and at least three people had been taken to the hospital. The city said police used pepper spray to break up some fights, and the city brought street sweepers in to defuse the crowd around 2 a.m. City officials described the crowd as "rowdy, and at times hostile."

"We're trying to get out of here. It's a little too chaotic," said Brandon Heinrich. "It's different than if we had won."

Jackie Thompson described the scene as "pretty hostile right now. I just think everyone's kinda at a loss of words and doesn't really know what else to do."

Steve Wales said he had driven to Lexington from Bardstown to visit State Street.

He said the turning point in the game came "when the shot clock went off and they didn't call a violation."

Matt Caudill, a UK junior, agreed.

"We got outplayed," he said. "They let that shot clock violation get to them."

Despite anger and disappointment, many fans expressed their pride in the team's accomplishments.

Jordan McClure, who watched the game at Tin Roof, said he would "remember it as one of the best teams ever."

"We still went 38-1," he said. "We can't be disappointed."

"I still couldn't have asked for a better five years of basketball," fifth year senior Zach Rose said at the Tin Roof parking lot. "It's a shame that the Duke-UK matchup everybody wanted didn't happen."

He said winning a national championship isn't as easy as people think.

"No matter the talent, no matter the chemistry, no matter the system, you can't predict these things," he said.

Longtime UK fan Justin Barnard of Lexington said that "in all honesty, I think our youth kind of showed."

Asked about the Duke-UK matchup not happening, Barnard said, "I think a lot of people took it for granted we were going to win this game."

"The sun will come up tomorrow," he said.

This story was originally published April 5, 2015 at 7:23 AM with the headline "After Kentucky’s loss: fires, fights and arrests (VIDEOS)."