USC's Heated Exchange With Fans Sparks Security Changes At Big Ten Tournament

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."

"The exchange was quickly resolved without escalation, and adjustments have been made to security procedures surrounding that area for the remaining three days of the tournament in order to eliminate overlap between game participants and fans."

Unknown what exactly those changes are ... but it's clear organizers are making an effort to keep all the action on the court.

We reached out to USC for a statement ... but the school declined to comment.