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Mizzou basketball set for SEC tournament with attendance restrictions

By Thomas Huitt-Johnson

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 17: The Auburn Tigers hold the winner's trophy after the 84-64 win against the Tennessee Volunteers during the final of the SEC Basketball Championships at Bridgestone Arena on March 17, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 17: The Auburn Tigers hold the winner's trophy after the 84-64 win against the Tennessee Volunteers during the final of the SEC Basketball Championships at Bridgestone Arena on March 17, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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The SEC announced this week’s tournament will be played with attendance restrictions. Mizzou basketball will play Texas A&M at 6 p.m.

During the first round of the SEC tournament, the conference released a statement that said it will play the remainder of the tournament, which includes Thursday’s Mizzou basketball game against Texas A&M, with attendance restrictions.

"“In light of recent developments beyond our control related to the spread of the coronavirus, including a recommendation from the NCAA COVID-19 Advisory Panel, and after consultation with our member universities, we have made the difficult decision to hold the 2020 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament in Nashville without spectators beginning with games of Thursday, March 12. Effective immediately, the policy will also apply to other SEC Championship events and on-campus regular season games scheduled through at least the end of March."

The Big 12, ACC and Pac-12 announced similar decisions on Wednesday.

Georgia defeated Ole Miss and Arkansas defeated Vanderbilt to begin tourney week in the SEC. Fans were able to attend those two games, but moving forward, the tournament will be restricted. Mizzou enters the tournament as the No. 10 seed and received a bye.

Limited family and credentialed media will be in attendance at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville for the remainder of the week. The statement from the SEC came around the same time the NBA announced it had suspended the season due to coronavirus.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus earlier Wednesday. The Jazz-Oklahoma City Thunder and the Sacramento Kings-New Orleans Pelicans games were postponed. Several other games were played Wednesday, the final time for the foreseeable future.

Earlier Wednesday, NCAA president Mark Emmert said in a statement that the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s tournaments would be played without fans in attendance. That raised the question on what conference tournaments would do. Hours later, it was decided that the SEC, along with other conferences, would follow the NCAA’s decision.

For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for your state’s Department of Health.

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