The Morning Dish – Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Five automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament went out on Tuesday night. But the story of the day revolved around a tournament that won’t be played, and ones that will look very different.

The Ivy League sent shockwaves through college basketball when they announced Tuesday morning that they were canceling their men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, awarding their automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament to the regular season champions. The league issued a wide-ranging statement as they are also taking action regarding other sporting events as well.

This naturally set off a wave of reactions, and most of it was not good. A Change.org petition wanting to reinstate the league tournament had well over 8,000 signatures a little after midnight Eastern. Harvard star guard Bryce Aiken, whose career to date has been derailed by seemingly constant injuries, let his displeasure be known on Twitter:

Horrible, horrible, horrible decision and total disregard for the players and teams that have put their hearts into this season. This is wrong on so many levels and the @IvyLeague should do its due diligence to find a better solution. Everyone knows the risks of playing! https://t.co/HQXprzX9q6

— Bryce Aiken (@BryceAiken) March 10, 2020

I think all of us understand being concerned about health and safety. But we would like to see some consistency, too. On the other hand, the Ivy League administration has no control over events it does not run such as the NCAA Tournament. This is sure to be a hot topic of discussion for a while.

As Tuesday wore on, this was only the beginning, however. The SEC announced that its tournament will limit locker room access to players, coaches and essential team personnel. The MAC is closing its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments to the public, as is the Big West. You wonder what will happen next week with the NCAA Tournament as the NCAA says they are actively monitoring the information they are receiving.

Tuesday night’s America East semifinal in Stony Brook between Hartford and Stony Brook was played with attendance management. Ticket sales were suspended earlier in the afternoon and subsequently brought back to have fans keep a “safe distance” from one another if they wanted to.

All of this can easily sap one’s interest in the sport at the best time of the year. As much as we love the sport, health and safety come first since we can’t enjoy it if we’re not alive and healthy. At the same time, there is the balance of going about our lives as we usually do, albeit with some caution and awareness of our surroundings.

The hope from this point on is that all of the decisions made are indeed what is best for us, and all we can do from here is enjoy what we have through the rest of Championship Week and then the postseason tournaments if they are able to go on as planned.

Side Dishes

Championship game roundup:

• The CAA championship game was a back-and-forth affair, but Hofstra had a big run to take the lead for good in the second half and then used an 8-0 run in the final minutes to pull away from Northeastern 70-61 to win their first CAA title.
• Northern Kentucky is heading to their third NCAA Tournament in four years after they beat UIC 71-62 to win the Horizon League championship.
• Robert Morris is going back to the NCAA Tournament after knocking off Saint Francis U 77-67 to win the Northeast Conference Tournament.
• The Summit League championship game was a no-doubter all along as regular season champion North Dakota State routed North Dakota 89-53 behind 23 points and 13 rebounds from Tyson Ward.
• A year after a bad performance led to a defeat, Gonzaga left no doubt in the West Coast Conference championship game, pulling away from Saint Mary’s 84-66.

In earlier rounds of tournament action:

• In the opening round of the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, No. 14 North Carolina routed No. 11 Virginia Tech 78-56 and No. 13 Pittsburgh beat No. 12 Wake Forest 81-72 behind 31 points from Justin Champagnie.
• The America East semifinals saw a split as No. 3 Hartford went on the road and held off No. 2 Stony Brook 64-58, while No. 1 Vermont got 26 points from Everett Duncan to knock off No. 4 UMBC 81-74. Vermont will be in the championship game for the fifth straight season, which is the first time that has happened in America East history.
• First round action in the MAAC Tournament in Atlantic City saw No. 9 Manhattan take over in the second half for a 61-43 win over No. 8 Fairfield, then E.J. Crawford’s 25 points led No. 7 Iona past No. 10 Canisius 70-60 and No. 6 Niagara edged No. 11 Marist 56-54.
• The MEAC Tournament got underway in Norfolk, with No. 8 Delaware State edging No. 9 Maryland-Eastern Shore 68-64, then a surprise as No. 10 Howard, who had just one MEAC win and three total wins on the season, topped No. 7 South Carolina State 70-63.
• The quarterfinals of the SWAC Tournament were all chalk and with double-digit margins, as No. 1 Prairie View A&M rolled over No. 8 Alabama A&M 82-60 behind 32 points and nine rebounds from Gerard Andrus, No. 2 Southern pulled away from No. 7 Alabama State 67-53, No. 3 Texas Southern took care of No. 6 Grambling 75-62 and No. 4 Jackson State took care of No. 5 Alcorn State 69-52.

Creighton will be without guard Marcus Zegarowski for the Big East Tournament, as the sophomore will have his knee scoped and hope to return for the NCAA Tournament next week.

In the same state, Nebraska has added two football players, quarterback Noah Vedral and offensive tackle Brant Banks, to their roster for the Big Ten Tournament. The Cornhuskers are down to seven scholarship players after suspending guards Dachon Burke Jr. and Cam Mack.

Tonight’s Menu

Only one automatic bid goes out tonight, but most of the day will feature early round action in other tournaments.

• In the Patriot League championship game, No. 3 Boston University travels to No. 1 Colgate (7 p.m.)
• Second round action in the ACC Tournament in Greensboro starts with No. 8 Clemson battling No. 9 Miami (noon), then No. 5 NC State takes on No. 13 Pittsburgh (2 p.m.) to close out the afternoon, then No. 7 Notre Dame battles No. 10 Boston College (7 p.m.) and No. 6 Syracuse takes on No. 14 North Carolina (9 p.m.)
• The Atlantic 10 Tournament gets underway in Brooklyn with No. 12 George Mason battling No. 13 Saint Joseph’s (1 p.m.) and No. 11 George Washington taking on No. 14 Fordham (3:30 p.m.)
• The Big 12 Tournament gets underway in Kansas City with No. 8 Oklahoma State battling No. 9 Iowa State (7 p.m.) and No. 7 TCU taking on No. 10 Kansas State (9:30 p.m.)
• The Big East Tournament has first round action with No. 8 Georgetown taking on No. 9 St. John’s (7 p.m.) and No. 7 Xavier taking on No. 10 DePaul (9:30 p.m.)
• First round action in the Big Ten Tournament has No. 12 Minnesota battling No. 13 Northwestern (6 p.m.) followed by No. 11 Indiana taking on No. 14 Nebraska (8:25 p.m.)
• The first game of the day is bright and early in Boise, where first round action in the Big Sky Tournament has No. 8 Weber State battling No. 9 Sacramento State (11:30 a.m.), then No. 7 Southern Utah takes on No. 10 Idaho (2 p.m.) and No. 6 Northern Arizona plays No. 11 Idaho State (4:30 p.m.)
• The Conference USA Tournament gets underway in Frisco, Texas, with No. 8 Old Dominion battling No. 9 Florida Atlantic (7 p.m.), No. 5 Florida International taking on No. 12 Rice (7:30 p.m.), No. 7 UAB taking on No. 10 UTSA (9:30 p.m.) and No. 6 Marshall taking on No. 11 UTEP (10 p.m.)
• The first two quarterfinals in the MAAC Tournament have No. 1 Siena taking on No. 9 Manhattan (7 p.m.) and No. 2 St. Peter’s taking on No. 7 Iona (9:30 p.m.)
• The first two quarterfinals in the MEAC Tournament are on tap in Norfolk, with No. 1 NC Central taking on No. 8 Delaware State (6 p.m.) and No. 2 North Carolina A&T taking on No. 10 Howard (8 p.m.)
• In Las Vegas, the Pac-12 Tournament gets going with first round action as No. 8 Oregon State takes on No. 9 Utah (3 p.m.), then No. 5 Arizona takes on No. 12 Washington in a rematch of the regular season finale for both teams (5:30 p.m.) to close out the afternoon. The evening begins with arch rivals meeting as No. 7 Stanford takes on No. 10 Cal (9 p.m.) and No. 6 Colorado takes on No. 11 Washington State (11:30 p.m.)
• Also getting started is the SEC Tournament in Nashville, where first round action has No. 12 Ole Miss battling No. 13 Georgia (7 p.m.) and No. 11 Arkansas taking on No. 14 Vanderbilt (9 p.m.)
• In Katy, Texas, the first round of the Southland Conference Tournament has No. 5 Northwestern State taking on No. 8 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (6 p.m.) and No. 6 Lamar battling No. 7 McNeese (8:30 p.m.)
• The Sun Belt Tournament is set to move to New Orleans, but first, quarterfinal action has in-state rivals battling as No. 5 Georgia Southern heads to No. 4 Georgia State (7 p.m.) and No. 6 Appalachian State travels to No. 3 Texas State (8 p.m.)