Cal Sports Report

Pac-12 Basketball: Pac-12 Tournament and All Conference Sports Canceled

Like other conference across the country, Pac-12 is supending activity in response to COVID-19

Jake Curtis

Pac-12 Basketball: Pac-12 Tournament and All Conference Sports Canceled
Pac-12 Basketball: Pac-12 Tournament and All Conference Sports Canceled /

Bulletin: NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments have been canceled. A full story coming spearately soon.

The Pac-12 got through the first round of action in its conference tournament on Wednesday, but that's as far as it will go. The conference announced Thursday morning that the rest of the Pac-12 tournament as well as all conference sporting events have been canceled in response to concerns about the COVID-19, also known as the novel coronavirus.

Cal was scheduled to play UCLA in the Pac-12 quarterfinals tonight, but that game will not be played. As a result Cal's basketball season is over. The Bears defeated Stanford in Wednesday's first round.

The decision was made less than three hours before the scheduled start of Thursday's first game, between Oregon and Oregon State.

There is a chance the tournament could be restarted at a later date, but that seems unlikely at this point.

Cal is still trying to get clarity as to whether the Pac-12 announcement means all Cal sports activities have been canceled.

The Pac-12 is following the lead of other major sports leagues and conferences. The NBA and NHL has canceled the rest of their seasons, and Major League Baseball is suspending spring training and delaying the start of the season two weeks. All major college conferences, including the Big Ten, Atlantic Coast Conference, American Athletic Conference, Southeastern Conference and others, are among those that have canceled their conference basketball tournaments.

Two Utah Jazz players have tested positive for the  novel coronavirus.

At this point it would seem the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments are in jeopardy, although no announcement has been made regarding a possible cancellation.

On Wednesday, the NCAA announced it will play the men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments as scheduled, but with limited audiences. That was Wednesday, and things are changing each day.

Click here for the latest information coming out of the NCAA.

The ACC commisioner addresses the isue in this tweet:

Here is the complete, albeit brief, release from the Pac-12 concerning its decision:

"The Pac-12 Conference has made the decision to cancel the remainder of the Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament and all Pac-12 sport competitions and Pac-12 Championship events, effective immediately, until further notice. This decision has been made in consultation with our member universities in an effort to limit the spread of the virus and in the interest of the health and safety of our student-athletes, campus personnel, working and event personnel, and all those who attend Pac-12 events."

On Wednesday, Cal football coach Justin Wilcox said at the end of the video below that spring practices have not been changed yet, but that changed Thursday evening when Cal announced spring practice has been suspended.

Here is the NCAA release regarding tickets to events that will limit spectators:

---If you ordered your NCAA championship tickets online from an official NCAA vendor or through an official NCAA vendor, you will be refunded. No action is necessary, but you can see how to follow up on the process by tapping or clicking here.

---NCAA president Mark Emmert announced yesterday [Wednesday] to play all "championship events, including the Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, with only essential staff and limited family attendance," in response to the safety and well-being of student-athletes during the uncertainty of the coronavirus.

---You can stay up to date with the latest updates from these official NCAA Twitter accounts:

-----Follow NCAA updates: @NCAA

-----NCAA Division II updates: @NCAADII

-----NCAA Division III updates: @NCAADIII

-----DI men's basketball tournament updates: @marchmadness

-----DI women's basketball tournament updates: @ncaawbb

-----Frozen Four updates: @NCAAIceHockey

-----DI wrestling championship updates: @NCAAWrestling

-----DI track and field championship updates: @NCAATrackField

We're also updating this page with the latest official announcements from the NCAA.

That is the end of the NCAA announcement.

Cal basketball coach Mark Fox posted a Tweet:

Content is unavailable

It's a far cry from what the Cal players and coaches were experiencing immediately after their win over Stanford:

Track and Field

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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