'Welcome To The Ghost Town': Big Ten Cancels Men's Basketball Tournament
INDIANAPOLIS — A security guard at Bankers Life Fieldhouse laughed when he saw media members coming down the hallway before Thursday's second round of the Big Ten tournament was scheduled to begin.
"Welcome to the ghost town," he said.
He didn't know how right he was.
It had already been announced that the final four days of the tournament were going to have restricted fan access, but less than 20 minutes before Rutgers and Michigan were scheduled to play the first game of the day, the Big Ten announced that the remainder tournament had been cancelled because of concerns about the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Players from both teams had gone through pre-game warmups and then had to leave the court. Moments later, media members who were courtside were told to vacate the area and return to the media workroom.
The tournament was over.
"I've just found over my career the more complicated decisions are, basically the answer is much more simple. And that is to always base your decisions on what is the right thing to do," Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said in his press conference. "And I strongly believe we have a fiduciary responsibility to our student-athletes first and foremost, our coaches and administrators, and our fans, to do what is right and to do what is fair, even if they really do want to play and continue playing."
Iowa, the fifth seed in the tournament, was scheduled to play Minnesota at approximately 1:30 p.m. (CDT). The Hawkeyes were not at the arena when the decision was announced.
“We are in full support of Commissioner Kevin Warren and Big Ten Conference presidents and administrators in cancelling the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament," Iowa athletics director Gary Barta said in a statement. "This is a fluid situation that is new to all of us. We will continue to monitor information through the Big Ten Conference and NCAA and move forward accordingly.”
“First and foremost, our prayers are with those who have been affected by the coronavirus as well as those responsible for the decisions that affect so many," Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said in a statement. "Following the advice from global health professionals, the Big Ten made a very difficult, but correct decision.
"I am incredibly proud of my team and this decision does not diminish everything that we have accomplished this season. While our players, coaches, and fans are all disappointed, the bigger picture of the health and well-being of everyone must be our top priority.”
Warren said he made his decision Thursday morning.
"I spent a lot of time thinking through this," Warren said. "It became crystal clear to me that I would recommend to our chancellors, presidents and our athletic directors that we would cancel our men’s basketball tournament.
"I had to make sure that I was comfortable, that I had spoken to the appropriate people. One of the things that is important to be, not just as a human being but as a commissioner, is transparency and communication.”
Asked why a decision wasn't announced before teams arrived at the arena, Warren said, "These are big decisions. They have major ramifications as far as scheduling, and all of the other different things. You don’t want to rush these decisions. It would have been great if this had been two hours earlier this morning, but it wasn’t.
"I feel very good with our decision. I’m confident in our decision."
Two games in the tournament were played on Wednesday night, with Minnesota defeating Northwestern and Indiana defeating Nebraska.
Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg fell ill in the second half of his team's game and left the court area. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was diagnosed with having influenza A.
Nebraska players were kept in the locker room after the game before being allowed to leave the arena.
Asked if Hoiberg's illness affected his decision, Warren said, "The answer is yes, naturally, when it happens in your environment. That was one piece in the decision-making process. I feel confident that I would have come to the same decision this morning, with or without that. That was an element of it, but it was so much bigger than that.
"I think the biggest thing to me was to make sure we had time, because I’ve just found during life that if you take a step back, very rarely do you regret it. We had to make sure we had the appropriate time to make the appropriate decision."
Warren said no one who has been at the arena has tested positive for the coronavirus.
"It’s really important to be thoughtful," he said. "If it comes down that I overreacted, or we overreacted, I’m comfortable with that. But I think as I sit here today, in these kind of situations, you can never (overreact) from a safety standpoint."
The Big Ten wasn't the only conference to cancel its tournament. By mid-afternoon, the Big 12, the Pac-12, the ACC, the SEC, the Mid-American Conference, the Big East and the American had cancelled their tournaments as well.
"Once you make a decision, and once you feel in your heart it’s the right decision, regardless of what anyone else did, it was not going to sway me or sway us as far as this decision we made," Warren said.
