Big Ten Cancels Men's Basketball Tournament
INDIANAPOLIS — Rutgers and Michigan had gone through pre-game warmups for Thursday's first game of the second round of the Big Ten tournament.
Neither team would be coming back out to the Bankers Life Fieldhouse court.
Sixteen minutes before tipoff, the Big Ten announced that the remaining games of the tournament would be cancelled because of concerns about the COVID-19 coronavirus.
The ACC, Big 12, Mid-American Conference, Southeastern Conference and the American Athletic Conference also announced their tournaments were cancelled as well.
Media who were courtside were asked to vacate the area and return to the media workroom.
Iowa was scheduled to play Minnesota at 1:30 p.m. (CDT). The Hawkeyes had not arrived at the arena when the decision was announced.
The Big Ten released a statement:
"The Big Ten Conference announced today that it will be canceling the remainder of the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament, effective immediately.
"The Big Ten Conference will use this time to work with the appropriate medical experts and institutional leadership to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The main priority of the Big Ten Conference continues to be the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, fans and media as we continue to monitor all developing and relevant information on the COVID-19 virus."
The decision comes one day after the NBA decided to suspend its season.
Two tournament games were played Wednesday night — Minnesota defeated Northwestern and Indiana defeated Nebraska.
It was in that second game that Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg became ill and left for the locker room later in the game. Hoiberg was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was diagnosed with influenza A.
