SPOKANE, Wash. — The Pac-12 Conference has decided to cancel the remainder of its men's basketball tournament, according to a statement released released on Thursday.
"The Pac-12 Conference has made the decision to cancel the remainder of the Pac-12 Men's Basketball Tournament and all Pac-12 sport competitions and Pac-12 Championship events, effectively immediately, until further notice," a statement reads in part.
The decision was made in consultation with member universities in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19, more commonly known as coronavirus, and "in the interest of the health and safety" of student-athletes, campus personnel, event personnel and attendees, according to the statement.
Washington State University and the University of Washington are members of the Pac-12 Conference.
WSU beat Colorado during a tournament game on Wednesday night. The team was set to face Arizona State University in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
The conference announced on Wednesday afternoon that conference tournament games would be played with limited fans due to coronavirus concerns. The decision was made following a recommendation made by the NCAA's COVID-19 advisory panel.
NCAA President Mark Emmert announced on Wednesday that both the men's and women's NCAA Tournaments will be played without fans amid coronavirus concerns.
The Gonzaga men's basketball team is likely to receive a one or two seed for the tournament and play at Spokane's Veteran's Memorial Arena for the first two rounds after winning the West Coast Conference Tournament. Now, those games would be played without any Gonzaga faithful in the arena, outside of possibly the player's families.
Whitworth is also playing its Division III Sweet Sixteen game without fans in the gym.