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The 2020 Big Ten Tournament is cancelled, and that likely means a cancellation or postponement of the NCAA Tournament is on its way.
The Big Ten Conference announced today that it will be canceling the remainder of the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament, effective immediately.https://t.co/MeQMNScXKQ
— Big Ten Conference (@bigten) March 12, 2020
In short, Illinois’ NCAA Tournament drought may last a bit longer.
The tournament in Indianapolis was cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Below was a portion of the Big Ten Conference’s statement.
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.
Illinois’ season ends one day before the team was planned to play the winner of Minnesota and Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. Illinois (21-10, 13-7 Big Ten) was on pace to be selected for next week’s tournament during Sunday’s Selection Show on CBS.
The National Basketball Association announced it is suspending its season Wednesday night after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus.
Earlier on Wednesday, the NCAA announced that the 2020 Men’s and Women’s NCAA Tournaments would be played without fans in the arena.
Indiana and Nebraska, as well as Minnesota and Northwestern, played games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Wednesday night in the first round of the tournament.
We’ll update this as we learn more, but this is disappointing.