UPDATE-The Sun Belt Conference announced early Thursday afternoon that the semifinal and final rounds of the men’s and women’s Sun Belt Conference Championship, held Saturday-Sunday, will be canceled due to a growing coronavirus concern.
The cancellation comes after multiple professional leagues have paused their seasons and/or canceled games due to the COVID-19, or coronavirus. The NCAA announced Wednesday that they will continue to prepare for the NCAA Tournament, but will not admit fans and will be only allowing “essential staff and limited family” according to NCAA president Mark Emmert. In addition, many of college basketball’s major conference championships will be canceled, including the AAC, Big Ten, ACC, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC and Atlantic 10 and others.
The Sun Belt Championship was going to be played in the Smoothie King Center, the home of the New Orleans Pelicans, on Friday and Saturday. Texas State would have taken the court at 2 p.m. on Friday against South Alabama after an 85-68 quarterfinal win over Appalachian State.
The Bobcats and the rest of the conference will await updates concerning their season and the cancellation of the tournament.