The league made the decision shortly before tipoff of Wednesday night's game. In Kansas City, Missouri, the crowd booed loudly late in the Big 12 first-round game between Iowa State and Oklahoma State when the public-address announcer read a prepared statement on the tournament being played without fans beginning with the quarterfinal round Thursday. The AAC men's basketball tournament, slated to begin Thursday at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, has also banned fans from all games. The Southland will continue to monitor and to take necessary precautions through the weeks ahead as other competition and championship events are scheduled."Ĭonference USA said it would close the remainder of its tournaments to the general public. "This is of the utmost importance as we're seeing similar issues across the country with other sporting events, including the NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Championships in the coming weeks. "While this announcement creates considerable inconvenience for many fans, these measures are being taken with the health and well-being of the tournament's participants in mind, including student-athletes and coaches," Southland commissioner Tom Burnett said in a statement. The Southland men's tournament started Wednesday, with the women's event scheduled to begin Thursday, both in Katy, Texas. The Atlantic 10 tournament, which ends Sunday, will also continue without spectators at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Big East followed suit with an announcement that the remainder of its men's basketball tournament, which continues through Saturday at New York's Madison Square Garden, will be played under a restricted attendance policy. "We regret the inconvenience and disappointment this decision has caused our fans, especially those who have already traveled to Nashville for the tournament,'' SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. Similar attendance restrictions will be in effect for all other regular-season events on its campuses and other league championships through at least March 30. The SEC will also play the remainder of its men's basketball tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, without fans. The conference said that similar limited fan policies will "apply to all Pac-12 sport competitions and Pac-12 Championship events until further notice." The Pac-12 men's basketball tournament, which was underway Wednesday in Las Vegas, will proceed with only essential staff, TV network partners, credentialed media, and limited family and friends in attendance. Thursday's quarterfinal games are the first to feature the top seeds in No. The conference cited the "rapidly changing landscape regarding COVID-19,'' saying games would be played only with teams, player guests, limited school administrators and credentialed media present. That came late on the second day of the five-day event, after fans had attended four full games and half of the Boston College-Notre Dame game at Greensboro Coliseum. The ACC announced its decision in a statement Wednesday evening. The Big 12 and Big Ten started Wednesday's tournament games with fans in attendance, and the ACC men's tournament started Tuesday in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Big 12, Big Ten, ACC, Pac-12, SEC, Big East, American Athletic Conference, Atlantic 10, Southland and Conference USA basketball tournaments will proceed without fans in attendance beginning with Thursday's games, following the lead of the NCAA tournament in barring anybody but family and essential personnel.
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