Tag: ncaa tournament

NCAA Tournament games to be held without fans

Due to the pandemic of the coronavirus (COVID-19), NCAA president Mark Emmert released a statement that fans will not be permitted…

Due to the pandemic of the coronavirus (COVID-19), NCAA president Mark Emmert released a statement that fans will not be permitted to attend the games.

The limitation of attendance will be for all upcoming NCAA hosted events, including the Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. As of right now, family of players and coaches alongside essential team/school personnel and media will be the only people in attendance.

Per the release, Emmert stated that the NCAA “will move forward and conduct championships consistent with the current information and will continue to monitor and make adjustments as needed.”

Oklahoma’s invitation to the NCAA Tournament is all but official thanks to Austin Reaves’ 41-point performance against TCU last Saturday. The University of Oklahoma has yet to make a statement regarding the NCAA’s decision as this is a fluid situation.

The Sooners will be in action Thursday night as the three-seed against six-seed West Virginia at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN/2.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Coronavirus forcing NCAA basketball tournaments to make changes to fan attendance

As conference tournaments are underway and automatic bids for the Men’s and Women’s NCAA tournaments are up for grabs, it has been announced that the games played in the NCAA Tournament will be played without fans in the stadium due to the rapid …

As conference tournaments are underway and automatic bids for the Men’s and Women’s NCAA tournaments are up for grabs, it has been announced that the games played in the NCAA Tournament will be played without fans in the stadium due to the rapid spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus.

It was announced earlier today by NCAA President Mark Emmert that the tournament is scheduled to go on as scheduled, but without fans in the arenas.

Emmert states that only family members and essential staff will be allowed to attend the games, no word yet on what the protocol will be for media members.

The NCAA is not the only organization to close it’s doors to fans out of fear of COVID-19. The NIT, also referred to as the tournament for the teams that didn’t make the cut for ‘March Madness,’ also announced it will be played without fans.

The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) tournament announced that it won’t be playing at all in 2020.

There are rumors surrounding the location of games for both the NIT and the NCAA Tournament, especially the Final Four which was scheduled to be held in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Roll Tide Wire will keep you updated on what the next steps are from all organizations involved.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

NCAA Tournament will be played without fans in attendance

Coronavirus update

The news many people expected, but which had not yet been made official, is now official: The 2020 NCAA Tournament will be played in arenas without fans. Only the players, coaches, and essential staff members will be allowed inside arenas, with the media’s presence in arenas still being discussed.

Here is a statement from NCAA President Mark Emmert:

“The NCAA continues to assess the impact of COVID-19 in consultation with public health officials and our COVID-19 advisory panel,” Emmert said in the statement. “Based on their advice and my discussions with the NCAA Board of Governors, I have made the decision to conduct our upcoming championship events, including the Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, with only essential staff and limited family attendance. While I understand how disappointing this is for all fans of our sports, my decision is based on the current understanding of how COVID-19 is progressing in the United States. This decision is in the best interest of public health, including that of coaches, administrators, fans and, most importantly, our student-athletes.”

The reality of a fan ban for all NCAA Tournament games was always a strong possibility when it became apparent that the coronavirus was going to spread throughout the United States and that testing for the virus was not being conducted with the timeliness or scale needed to rein in the global pandemic.

Momentum for the policy of preventing fans from attending NCAA Tournament games grew earlier this week, when Ohio Governor Mike DeWine requested that fans not attend indoor sporting events (parents of athletes being an exception). That request became an order on Wednesday.

“One of the things that we have found in discussions, and this is very understandable, is some organizations need an order from the government,” DeWine said during a press conference. “It is better for us to make their life easier by issuing an order.”

The fact that the First Four — which stages the opening games of the NCAA Tournament — is annually held in Dayton, Ohio, magnified the impact of DeWine’s request-turned-order. One of the first- and second-round NCAA Tournament sites is Cleveland, which also fell under DeWine’s order. That move led to the cancellation of rallies for the two Democratic presidential candidates in Ohio.

The NCAA was very unlikely to allow fans to other NCAA Tournament sites after the events affecting Ohio-based sites. Now that news is official.

No word has emerged yet on whether the 2020 Final Four — scheduled to be held inside a football venue, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta — will be moved to a smaller location. Stay tuned for more news, which is emerging rapidly in the midst of a very fluid situation.

NCAA Tournament updates amid Coronavirus outbreak

NCAA President Mark Emmert released a statement preventing fan attendance, while the College Basketball Invitational canceled completely.

The recent outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) has now prevented fans from attending the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

NCAA President Mark Emmert released a statement on Wednesday stating that only essential staff and limited family will be allowed to attend games. However, the situation will continue to be monitored and adjustments will be made on an as-needed basis.

Public health officials are taking the necessary steps to prevent large crowd gatherings in fear of the COVID-19 progressing in the United States. There was a legitimate chance that March Madness would be canceled completely, but ultimately Emmert felt confident to continue the event under these special circumstances after discussions with the Board of Governors.

A separate postseason inaugural tournament, the College Basketball Invitational, has canceled completely.

Although the College Basketball Invitational is on the lower tier of importance in terms of postseason tournaments compared to the NCAA Tournament and National Invitation Tournament, the cancellation speaks volumes in terms of what is to come with sporting events over the next several months.

Not having fans in attendance throughout the NCAA tournament will impact each team significantly. Texas still has a chance to become an at-large bid into the tournament, although fan attendance has not been their strong suit this season.

 

Fans banned from attending NCAA Tournament due to coronavirus

NCAA president Mark Emmert announced the NCAA Tournament will not allow fans in attendance due to the coronavirus.

The men’s and women’s basketball NCAA Tournament will be held without fans in attendance, NCAA president Mark Emmert announced in a press release Wednesday.

Because of the coronavirus spread, only “essential staff and limited family attendance” will be allowed, Emmert said.

The NCAA continues to assess the impact of COVID-19 in consultation with public health officials and our COVID-19 advisory panel. Based on their advice and my discussions with the NCAA Board of Governors, I have made the decision to conduct our upcoming championship events, including the Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, with only essential staff and limited family attendance. While I understand how disappointing this is for all fans of our sports, my decision is based on the current understanding of how COVID-19 is progressing in the United States.

Games between men’s teams in the First Four are scheduled to begin Tuesday and the first round is scheduled to begin two days later, March 19.

The women’s first round is scheduled to begin Friday, March 20.

The men’s Final Four and championship game is scheduled for April 4 and 6, respectively, at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

The women’s Final Four and championship game is scheduled for April 3 and 5 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

This decision is in the best interest of public health, including that of coaches, administrators, fans and, most importantly, our student-athletes. We recognize the opportunity to compete in an NCAA national championship is an experience of a lifetime for the students and their families. Today, we will move forward and conduct championships consistent with the current information and will continue to monitor and make adjustments as needed.

BREAKING: NCAA Basketball Tournaments to be played without fans in attendance

In a shocking announcement, the NCAA President and Board of Governors have determined that NCAA March Madness will be played without fans.

[jwplayer 0nK5eYh0]

In a major move, NCAA President Mark Emmert announced on Wednesday afternoon that the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments will be played without fans in attendance amidst concern over the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak, outside of family and essential staff. Emmert says the decision was made after consulting with medical advisors and the NCAA Board of Governors.

This is particularly interesting for Michigan State and Big Ten schools because the Big Ten Tournament kicks off today and fans will be allowed to attend.

Here is the original statement from the NCAA COVID-19 Advisory Panel:

“The NCAA COVID-19 Advisory Panel recognizes the fluidity of COVID-19 and its impact on hosting events in a public space.  COVID-19 is spreading rapidly in the United States, and behavioral risk mitigation strategies are the best option for slowing the spread of this disease.  This is especially important because mildly symptomatic individuals can transmit COVID-19.  Given these considerations, coupled with a more unfavorable outcome of COVID-19 in older adults – especially those with underlying chronic medical conditions – we recommend against sporting events open to the public.  We do believe sport events can take place with only essential personnel and limited family attendance, and this protects our players, employees, and fans.”

Why the Maryland Terrapins will win the 2020 NCAA Tournament

Why the Maryland Terrapins will win the 2020 NCAA Tournament.

Out of the hard-fought Big Ten battles from this winter emerges a beast from the East and a blast from the past. A perfect team – they are not. However, coming out of one of the best and most hotly contested leagues this season, the Maryland Terrapins (24-7) are worthy of a look to win the second NCAA Tournament championship in program history. The Terps’ 2002 title was the mantelpiece of a run that saw Maryland get to the Sweet 16 seven times in 10 years (1994-2003).

Here are three good reasons why the 11th-ranked (USA Today Sports Coaches Poll) Maryland Terrapins will win the 2020 NCAA Tournament.

Get some action as the college basketball season winds down by placing a legal sports bet at BetMGM! New customer offer: Risk-free first bet! Visit BetMGM for terms and conditions.

Battle-tested

Maryland went 14-6 over 20 regular-season Big Ten games. No less than five conference foes (Illinois, Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin) in the Coaches Poll were in the Terps’ way. Throw in Michigan, Penn State, Purdue and Rutgers as other worthy top 25s – all are well-placed on popular computer rankings heading into conference tournament play. Big road wins late in the season – at Minnesota, Michigan State and Illinois – are the kind that can roll a team into late March with a ton of confidence.

Youth led by a veteran guard

Senior G Anthony Cowan is a solid two-way player who can distribute and get to the foul line and score on offense, play exceptional defense, and give the Terrapins 35 minutes per game. The veteran guard leads a squad comprised of super sophs – Jalen Smith (15.5 points per game, 10.5 rebounds per game), Aaron Wiggins (10.4 PPG, 4.9 RPG), Eric Ayala (8.5 PPG), impact freshman – Donta Scott and a linchpin junior – Darryl Morsell – who complements Maryland’s efforts at both ends of the floor. The Terrapins are a young team that plays with high energy but at a tempo under their control.

Well-built for bracket play

The Terrapins’ game includes components well built a long bracket run. Maryland takes a lot of undefended 15-footers each game – the Terps rank second in the Big Ten, with 21.6 free-throw attempts per contest. Maryland hoists a lot of shots from beyond the three-point arc – they are better away from home in their success rate on those shots and have performed well in recent contests against top-20 foes. The Terps are also one of the top teams in the nation when it comes to finishing at the rim. They take care of the basketball, allowing fewer breakdown buckets off turnovers than most teams that will be in the tournament. It all makes for efficiency and variety on offense. On defense, Maryland has held opponents to a 38-percent mark from the floor. The Terrapins are exceptional at keeping foes from scoring near the rim. The 6-foot-10 Jalen Smith is a big factor in the paint. His 2.4 blocks per game will be among the highest averages for any player in the tournament, and it’s clear that he affects twice as many shots as he swats.

Maryland has made just one Sweet 16 in the last 15 years (2016), but the 2019-20 Terrapins are built to win different types of games and perhaps go all the way.

Want some action? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

[lawrence-newsletter]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1667]

Michigan State University investigating local coronavirus case, moving to online classes

The university has announced campus will remain open, but face-to-face instruction has been suspended.

COVID-19, more often referred to as “The Coronavirus” has made its way into Michigan.

Michigan State University has announced that in-person classes will be suspended in lieu of online classes. The suspension will start at Noon Wednesday, March 11 and last until at least April 20.

According to the school, “On March 11, MSU learned of an individual linked to our campus who the Ingham County Health Department is currently investigating and monitoring. The day before, state officials announced the first confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Michigan.”

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced Tuesday night that two people in the state–in Oakland and Wayne Counties–had tested positive for COVID-19.

The school is also monitoring large-scale gatherings to be held on campus in the future, as well as limiting future events in confined spaces. “We will provide more information soon and urge everyone to consider the health implications of large gatherings and evaluate the essential nature of the events. We will not be scheduling new events with more than 100 individuals in a confined space during for this time period unless there are special circumstances,” says the release.

Michigan State is just one of many colleges or college areas impacted by the spread of COVID-19. A number of schools have switched to online classes, the Ivy League basketball tournament has been cancelled, and a number of NCAA Tournament host sites for both men and women are in cities or states that have limited or banned large-scale events. The MAC conference tournament is currently being played in Cleveland, OH–site of a pod of NCAA Tournament games–without fans due to outbreak fears. The potential for this type of scenario at sporting events across the country is growing very real.

On Wednesday morning the NCAA cancelled a media teleconference with basketball committee chair Kevin White. Thus far the NCAA hasn’t had much to say in response to their biggest event of the season being impacted by a viral disease outbreak.

More locally, the Big Ten Tournament–which kicks off Wednesday night in Indianapolis–is scheduled to go on as planned, but the conference has not updated the situation in a handful of days, during which the cases of COVID-19 in the United States have continued to grow. We will have more on this story when it is available.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=516986277]

How Will Coronavirus Impact NCAA Tournament?

Will Coronavirus Impact The NCAA Tournament? Covid-19 is forcing everyone to be cautious and that is good. Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire Get rady for empty arenas? The United States, and the world, are coping with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) …

[jwplayer TtpJIvlc-sNi3MVSU]

Will Coronavirus Impact The NCAA Tournament?

Covid-19 is forcing everyone to be cautious and that is good.

Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire

Get rady for empty arenas?

The United States, and the world, are coping with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic which is spreading and there have been and will be a lot of ways to hopefully prevent it from getting worse. Ways to do that are to limit large gatherings or canceling them altogether.

Italy has been hit very badly by this virus and the country on lockdown and the very popular Serie A league postponed through the first few days in April and there is even talk of just caneling the season with no winner.

Across the Atlantic seems far away but cases are worldwide including the United States and events are already being canceled or adjusted to be played with no fans.

The Ivy League has a fairly new four-team tournament and they decided to scrap the men’s and women’s event and award regular-season champions with the NCAA Tournament auto bid.

Then there is the Big West and MAC which are going to play but with no fans. That will be a very interesting scene to take n watching these events televised with no cheering or booing fans.

This begs the question for what the NCAA should do for the NCAA Tournament. There are already people out there writing up opinion pieces — can’t stress opinion enough as sportswriters are not medical experts — that perhaps March Madness should be canceled.

Things happen quickly but on March 8, the NCAA said they plan on having games as scheduled. Yet, at the time no word on fans attending, at least in this clip below.

There is something to be said about being overly cautious or not caring enough. March Madness is huge for a million reasons from teams earning its first bids, fans going to events, bracket pools, TV money, school pride and fun.

In my non-expert opinion, I hope that these decisions that are made, or not made, to limit March Madness or even outright cancel the event that it is not done in panic.

Be smart about it and discuss with medical experts on steps to take. Having the events go on and then it causes this virus to spread rapidly would be so much worse than no fans at these games or cancel the event outright.

There are also issues to be dealt with on a state by state as March Madness is all across the country which includes games in Spokane, Washington, with that state being hit particularly hard or Ohio which is the state hosting the MAC tournament without fans in Cleveland.

Ohio also is hosting the First Four in Dayton in under a week and Governor Mike DeWine is not outright saying no fans but is asking that all indoor events do not have fans in attendance. Not sure who has the final call when it comes to the NCAA Tournament but this is something else to watch.

This situation is one of a kind and should be taken seriously and we all want the full NCAA Tournament experience making brackets, cheering for upset, rooting for your team, or in the Mountain West’s case a possible No. 1 seed in San Diego State making a deep tournament run.

For more info on NCAA and conference tournamaent updates check out Heat Check CBB and Mid Major Madness which are compiling updates as they role in.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1360]

[protected-iframe id=”c0286d6e1aad69344270e42782a7311d-137729785-123448869″ info=”https://anchor.fm/mwwire/embed” width=”400px” height=”102px” frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no”]

What NCAA seed could Ohio State land if it wins the Big Ten tournament?

The Ohio State basketball team has a chance to make a multi-game run in the Big Ten Tournament, and it could seriously help its resume.

The Ohio State basketball team has a chance to improve its seeding in the NCAA Tournament if it can make a deeper-than-expected run in the Big Ten Tournament.

Already with a first-round bye, the tournament’s seventh seed will start out playing the No. 11 seed, the Purdue Boilermakers. It won’t be easy (Big Ten games rarely are), but Ohio State did defeat Purdue by 16 just a few weeks ago. That game was at home though, and this one is just a stone’s throw from West Lafayette. It should be a pro-Boilermaker crowd.

They’ll then get Michigan State.

For argument’s sake, let’s assume the Buckeyes defeat Michigan State. Then, for kicks and giggles, we assume they defeat Maryland and lose in the final to a Wisconsin team they’ve yet to beat this season.

If that were to happen, Ohio State would have two additional top-15 victories under their belt. Maryland is currently ranked No. 12 while Michigan State is No. 9.

Ohio State does have double-digit losses, but they have a stellar resume. Rattling off nine straight wins to start the season, Ohio State has six top-25 victories to go with a perfect 3-0 record against teams in the top ten.

With most bracket projections giving the Buckeyes a No. 5 seed currently, those victories should boost them back into the top 15 and potentially into the No. 4 seed range if everything else falls into place nationally.

Either way, with their action in the Big Ten Tournament kicking off against Purdue at 6:30 p.m. EST on March 11, the Buckeyes will have a chance to get a hot streak going and figure out how to improve an already impressive resume heading into late March.

Let all the fun begin.

 

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion.

We have a forum and message board now. Get in on the conversation about Ohio State athletics by joining the Buckeyes Wire Forum.