Links: Coronavirus has SEC and NCAA basketball tournaments considering options
Sunday’s announcement that organizers for the 2020 BNP Paribas Open in Indiana Wells, California, had called off their annual tennis tournament, one of the bigger tournaments outside the sport’s majors, called into questions what might happen with other major sporting events.
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association said it plans to go ahead with the girls’ state basketball tournament this week and the boys’ state basketball tournament next week at Rupp Arena.
Meanwhile, the SEC said Sunday it is monitoring the coronavirus situation in Nashville, site of this week’s men’s SEC Tournament, which is scheduled to start Wednesday. Nashville does have at least one confirmed coronavirus case.
And, of course, Sunday is Selection Sunday for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. And the New York Times reports that the NCAA is considering using fewer sites as one option to deal with possible problems.
Meanwhile, here’s my subscriber exclusive column about how Kentucky’s will to win should serve it well in the postseason. When it could have quit, the Cats fought back from an 18-point deficit to win at Florida on Saturday.
And here’s the schedule for the 2020 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Update: The SEC released a statement on Monday afternoon that as of now events will continue as planned for the men’s tournament this week in Nashville.
Update: Vanderbilt University is canceling classes for the remainder of the week.
Links of interest
The KHSAA says tournaments will go on — Jared Peck of the Herald-Leader reports, “The Kentucky High School Athletic Association has no plans to cancel, postpone or alter the schedule of its upcoming boys’ and girls’ state basketball tournaments amid concerns of the spread of the coronavirus to Kentucky, its commissioner said in a statement Sunday.”
SEC and SEC Network are monitoring the coronavirus situation — John Talty of AL.com reports, “The state of Tennessee now has three confirmed coronavirus cases including one in Nashville, the city’s mayor announced Sunday, where the tournament will be played. After the most recent case, the SEC referred back to a statement released late last week when the first confirmed case in Williamson County, Tennessee became public.”
Could Kentucky’s win be the start of something big? — Kyle Tucker of The Athletic writes, “Disaster was imminent for Kentucky on Saturday afternoon at Florida. When? Pick a time. An hour before the game, John Calipari announced that starting point guard Ashton Hagans did not make the trip for “personal reasons.” Last we saw Hagans, he was beat up, mired in a slump and screaming at his coach and teammates during a meltdown loss to Tennessee on Tuesday night. But he’s still one of the best defenders in America, and his absence left the Wildcats with just seven available scholarship players.”
Vanderbilt among hottest teams entering men’s SEC Tournament — David Paschall of the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports, “Texas A&M and Vanderbilt were picked to finish 12th and 14th in the 2020 Southeastern Conference men’s basketball race. Entering this week’s league tournament in Nashville, the Aggies and the Commodores are the SEC’s hottest teams by virtue of their two-game winning streaks.”
South Carolina wins women’s SEC Tournament — Pete Iacobelli of the Associated Press reports, “It was almost a year ago when Mikiah Herbert Harrigan came to coach Dawn Staley saying she wasn’t happy at South Carolina and wanted to transfer. So after Herbert Harrigan, nicknamed “Mad Kiki,” earned SEC tournament MVP honors following the top-ranked Gamecocks’ 76-62 victory over No. 9 Mississippi State on Sunday, Staley made sure to catch up with her senior star.”
Kentucky women believe they are dangerous for NCAA — Josh Sullivan of the Herald-Leader reports, “Kentucky will learn its NCAA Tournament fate when the 64-team field is revealed Monday, March 16, at 7 p.m. on ESPN. With Saturday’s loss, the Cats are likely out of the running for a top-16 seed and the resulting right to host the first two rounds at home. ESPN’s Charlie Creme, who’s responsible for the network’s women’s basketball “Bracketology,” currently predicts UK will earn a No. 6 seed.”
Kentucky softball loses second game of Texas A&M series — UK Athletics reports, “Kentucky played an uncharacteristically poor game on Sunday night, accounting for six runners left on base in scoring position, an error and only one extra-base hit as the Texas A&M Aggies evened up this weekend’s three-game Southeastern Conference opening series with a 6-3 win Sunday.”
Kentucky baseball sweeps doubleheader — UK Athletics reports, “T.J. Collett blasted two doubles, a home run and drove in seven runs as Kentucky outscored Oakland 24-8 in a doubleheader sweep on Sunday at Kentucky Proud Park. The Wildcats improved to 10-3 on their 14-game homestand that will end Tuesday night against Western Kentucky.”
The song remains the same for the Florida Gators — Pat Dooley of the Gainesville Sun writes, “The ball was released from about 25 feet on the run and for a second you flashed back to Chris Chiozza in the Garden or Chandler Parsons against South Carolina or any other of the hundreds of shots you have seen players make from long range to win a game in March. It was a good look, which is all you can ask for on a buzzer-shot. Had it gone in, all would have been forgiven.”
Late offensive struggles cost Louisville — Eric Crawford of WDRB reports, “Five straight possessions. Five straight offensive trips without a good look at the basket. That’s what stood between the Louisville basketball team and a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference championship. After a 57-54 loss at Virginia on Saturday, Louisville coach Chris Mack said his team didn’t get the job done on defense, and I’m not here to argue with him.”
Justin Robinson lived a boyhood dream at Duke — Andrew Carter of the Charlotte Observer wrote, “More than an hour before his final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, Justin Robinson walked onto the court Saturday afternoon to the sound of the Duke student section, already full of bodies and faces covered in blue paint, chanting his nickname. After five seasons at Duke, he’d become especially popular — more beloved than his limited role might suggest.”
NIT reasonable destination for Tennessee — John Adams of the Knoxville News-Sentinel writes that after Saturday’s lopsided loss to Auburn, the Vols don’t have much shot of making the NCAA Tournament. It’s a “for subscribers” story.
Quarterback Jamie Newton brings a different dimension to Georgia — Mike Griffith of Dawg Nation reports, “What if someone told you Georgia’s newest quarterback produced more offense per game than the quarterback for the No. 4 offense in the country last season? It’s true, Jamie Newman passed and rushed for more yards per game last season at Wake Forest than Justin Fields did at Ohio State (full statistical profile below).”
Three Kentucky Derby hopefuls move up leaderboard — The Herald-Leader reports, “Authentic kept his perfect record intact with an easy victory in the Grade 2, $400,000 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita Park in California on Saturday. The Bob Baffert-trained 3-year-old son of Into Mischief recovered from an early bobble and stormed to the lead under jockey Drayden Van Dyke and finished 2 1/4 lengths ahead of Honor A.P. to earn 50 qualifying points toward the Kentucky Derby.”
This story was originally published March 9, 2020 at 9:12 AM.
