97.1 The Ticket -- Michigan will take the floor against Rutgers at the Big Ten Tournament Thursday at noon inside a mostly-empty Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Following the lead of the NCAA, the Big Ten has announced the remainder of the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament will be closed to the general public amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the tournament tipped off Wednesday night, starting on Thursday at noon, the games will be limited to student-athletes, coaches, event staff, essential team and Conference staff, TV network partners, credentialed media, and immediate family members of the participating teams.
Big Ten Conference Statement:https://t.co/NzJd0o9YPM
— Big Ten Conference (@bigten)
March 11, 2020 The conference also says all further winter and spring sport competitions, including championship and tournament events, will also be limited to student-athletes, coaches, event staff, essential team and Conference staff, TV network partners, credentialed media, and immediate family members of the participating teams.
"The main priority of the Big Ten Conference is to ensure the safety of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, fans and media as we continue to monitor all relevant information on the COVID-19 virus on a daily basis," the conference said in a statement.
Minnesota and Northwestern were at halftime of the tournament's first game when the conference made the announcement. Indiana will play Nebraska as scheduled Wednesday night.
The NCAA announced earlier in the day that the men's and women's basketball tournaments, as well as other championship events this spring --
including the Frozen Four in Detroit -- will be subject to the same restrictions, as officials hope to slow the spread of the virus.
