NCAA Tourney officially cancelled

[jbarajas0490]

This blows so bad. I wrote a scathing message about Providence in the beginning of the year but i was really rooting for them after they split with all the teams in the top half and thinking maybe this is the year they make a run.... So disappointed

[kmacker69]

Too early without analyzing how to mitigate the risks! If they spent more than two days looking at the info and figuring how they couldn't mitigate the risk, then I say ok. As is it is a knee jerk response...

[sju88grad]

How many times can I watch the '85, '16, and '18 games over the next few weeks?

I'm gonna rewatch Creighton vs. Seton Hall from last week....

I've already watched the 2nd half of the SJU game from last night about 3 times.....i need something to make me happy.....

[kayako]

https://twitter.com/HeavensFX/status/1238202924859260931?s=09

One Shining Moment 2020...

[Omaha1]

What a pisser.

[NJRedman]

In some alternate reality the Johnnies go on a Kemba like tear and win the whole thing.

[XUFan09]

Too early without analyzing how to mitigate the risks! If they spent more than two days looking at the info and figuring how they couldn't mitigate the risk, then I say ok. As is it is a knee jerk response...

Things accelerated quickly on the public side, but I'm guessing this was under consideration in private by leadership for quite longer. Since social distance is easily among the most effective means of combatting the spread of the virus, I'm also not sure how one could reasonably mitigate risks while ignoring the best means of doing so.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

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This ESPN article is worth a read. There are still lot of unknowns to be decided.

What we know and don't know after NCAA tournament cancellations – ESPN – Thursday March 12, 2020

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I feel bad for teams like Dayton and San Diego State

……… This season certainly didn't turn out as well as expected.

The teams, players and coaches hit hardest by the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Tournament – CBS Sports – Friday March 13, 2020

Without March Madness there are no winners, and some were hit harder than others

With the NCAA's landmark and precedent-setting decision Thursday to cancel the 2020 NCAA Tournament comes a cold realization: there are no winners. It stinks for fans who were hoping to travel to host cities to see their favorite team compete in the postseason. It stinks for players who busted their butt, constantly juggling academics and athletics throughout the season for an opportunity to be in the March Madness mix. It stinks for coaches, who recruited players years in advance, navigated the grueling season and positioned themselves and their teams to be among the field of 68 come Selection Sunday.

It stinks for host sites, which will miss out on an unknown-but-surely-beneficial economic boom. And it stinks even for the NCAA, which dragged its feet but eventually decided -- like the NBA and other major sports across the country -- that moving forward by playing games was simply not feasible.

It all stinks.

Of course, it's not all doom and gloom. That the NCAA chose to cancel the tournament amid coronavirus outbreaks across the country shows tremendous foresight. It protects all those who surely are hurt and frustrated by the decision. But the reward of the decision is that the risk of not cancelling the tournament will never be known. Given what we know about the virus and its spread, it could have prevented dozens of cases. Or hundreds. Or thousands.

Nonetheless, it's just a bummer all the way around. And here's the parties who should feel especially bummed. Unlike our weekly winners and losers column, there's only losers.

These are their stories:

[stever20]

Too early without analyzing how to mitigate the risks! If they spent more than two days looking at the info and figuring how they couldn't mitigate the risk, then I say ok. As is it is a knee jerk response...

Things accelerated quickly on the public side, but I'm guessing this was under consideration in private by leadership for quite longer. Since social distance is easily among the most effective means of combatting the spread of the virus, I'm also not sure how one could reasonably mitigate risks while ignoring the best means of doing so.

If they hadn't cancelled it when they did, when the CAA ref came down with it- and all that entails- it would have then...