Wiedmer: Even March Madness is no match for the coronavirus

AP photo by Michael Conroy / Flags for the 2020 Division I men's basketball tournament's Final Four fly over the national office of the NCAA on Thursday in Indianapolis. The NCAA canceled the Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments, as well as the rest of its winter and spring sports championships, amid coronavirus concerns. AP photo by Michael Conroy / Flags for the 2020 Division I men's basketball tournament's Final Four fly over the national office of the NCAA on Thursday in Indianapolis. The NCAA canceled the Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments, as well as the rest of its winter and spring sports championships, amid coronavirus concerns.

By Mark Wiedmer March 13, 2020 5 min read

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NASHVILLE – This newspaper’s Gene Henley and I had just gotten on the shuttle bus that would take us from Nissan Stadium to Bridgestone Arena on Thursday morning when the “breaking news” headlines flashed across various social media outlets.

“The SEC men’s basketball tournament has been canceled,” the bulletins proclaimed.

W-h-h-h-a-a-t?

They haven’t failed to stage an SEC men’s basketball tourney since it was resurrected in 1979 after a 25-year absence. How. Can. This. Be?