WATCH: Northwestern-Rutgers game temporarily delayed by smoke coming from scoreboard

A Big Ten showdown between Rutgers and Northwestern was delayed for a strange reason on Sunday after the scoreboard started smoking. Officials called for an indefinite suspension to play with about four minutes remaining in the first half because smoke was seen coming from a speaker built into the Jersey Mike’s Arena scoreboard.

Officials diagnosed the speaker as the source of the issue and cut power to the speaker in question.

After a nearly seven minute delay, officials made the call to continue playing the half as there was no obvious danger — calling for the scoreboard to be lowered at halftime to determine the cause of the smoke.

There's a delay in the Northwestern-Rutgers game due to smoke coming from the scoreboard. pic.twitter.com/6EgSKv7wpP

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 6, 2023

Northwestern-Rutgers delayed by smoky scoreboard

Sparks weren’t quite flying on the court in the first half as Northwestern built an 18-14 lead over the Scarlet Knights, but fans started noticing something could have been sparking above the court. Although the smoke didn’t seem to indicate something had caught fire completely, the delay in the game saw the fire marshal make an appearance while arena staff made a call on how to proceed.

Ultimately, nobody was evacuated from the building and the smoke appeared to dissipate after some time. The game continued after the brief delay as fans were left waiting to see what the halftime repair work revealed as the problem.

The Wildcats’ four-point lead held through the delay as they finished the first half with a 25-21 lead. The final game of the regular season for Big Ten basketball had massive stakes for both teams, but Northwestern especially had plenty to lose. A win for Rutgers would earn them the 8-seed in the upcoming Big Ten conference tournament, while a loss would secure them the 9-seed.

However, Northwestern had the potential to secure the second seed in the conference tournament with a road win over Rutgers. If the Wildcats couldn’t get it done on Sunday night, a free fall down to the 9-seed was their punishment.