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Conference announces SEC tournament has been canceled

By Thomas Huitt-Johnson

FAYETTEVILLE, AR - FEBRUARY 22: Reed Nikko #14 of the Missouri Tigers plays defense during a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena on February 22, 2020 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Razorbacks defeated the Tigers 78-68. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
FAYETTEVILLE, AR - FEBRUARY 22: Reed Nikko #14 of the Missouri Tigers plays defense during a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena on February 22, 2020 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Razorbacks defeated the Tigers 78-68. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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It’s not a surprise after other conferences earlier said they were ending their tournaments weeks. The SEC Tournament is canceled.

The Missouri basketball season looks like it will end before the Tigers got a shot to try to extend their season. The SEC conference announced its SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville is canceled.

The conference tweeted the following just before noon eastern time:

"“Based on the latest developments and the continued spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), the Southeastern Conference today announced the cancellation of the remainder of the 2020 Men’s Basketball Tournament in Nashville.”"

The first two games of the conference tournament were played Wednesday in front of fans. During the tournament, the conference announced it would play the rest of the games with fan restrictions. Throughout the night and into early Thursday, it seemed more and more possible that there would be no more tournament games. And that’s what happened late Thursday morning.

The Big Ten and AAC also announced their conference tournaments are ending because of the coronavirus. The ACC Conference Tournament also announced the cancellation of its tournament shortly after others called off theirs.

On Wednesday, the NCAA announced its men’s and women’s Division I tournaments would be played without fans in attendance. It wanted to err on the side of caution due to the virus spreading. During Wednesday night’s games, the NBA announced it was suspending its season after discussing playing the games without fans for the foreseeable future.

But those plans were shut down after sources said Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus. The Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder game was postponed just before tip-off as was the Sacramento Kings-New Orleans Pelicans game.

Missouri basketball finishes the season 15-16. The Tigers were the No. 10 team in the SEC standings and were set to play No. 7 Texas A&M at 6 p.m. The winner was scheduled to play the No. 2-seeded Auburn Tigers.

The Tigers lose one senior in forward Reed Nikko.

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