March Madness 2020 has been hit with the ultimate upset.
The NCAA tournament for men’s and women’s basketball has been canceled, the NCAA announced Thursday, as concerns over the spread of coronavirus continued to rise across the country.
The NCAA was slow in making its decision. It announced Wednesday that it would play the tournament without any fans after Ohio and Washington — states that were set to host first and second-round games — had announced a ban of large gatherings. Since then, the NBA, NHL, MLB and MLS all suspended their seasons and every conference basketball tournament was canceled.
Prominent voices like TNT analyst Charles Barkley and ESPN analyst Jay Bilas called for the tournament to be postponed Thursday morning, citing the risk for the players even without fans in the buildings.
Duke was the first university to say it would not play in the NCAA tournament if one was held, suspending all athletic activities indefinitely.