Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
NCAA game in Baltimore held in empty gym
BALTIMORE » In what was believed to be the first U.S. sports event held without fans because of the new coronavirus, Yeshiva University beat Worcester Polytechnic Institute in a Division III men’s basketball NCAA Tournament game Friday in an empty gym at Johns Hopkins University.
Players on each bench cheered and chanted “De-fense!” to make up for the lack of fans. The squeaking sound of sneakers and bouncing of the ball reverberated off the walls of the 1,100-seat Goldfarb Gymnasium that was otherwise so quiet that the in-game chatter could be heard several rows back.
“It was definitely a weird experience,” WPI forward Jake Wisniewski said. “All the emotions that are going on the court, everyone was able to hear it, which was weird. Usually, the crowd can kind of mask a lot of things that are being said on the court.”
As students walked by the athletics facility, there were police officers outside and signs on doors reading, “No spectators.” Music blared over the speakers inside and some preplanned fan announcements, including one promoting social media sharing — “Tell the world you’re here” — went on with no fans to hear them.
Only players, coaches, referees, employees and media members were present, so the official attendance was 0.
“It was definitely different, but our guys on the bench really made up for it,” Yeshiva coach Elliott Steinmetz said after the 102-78 win. “The energy on the bench was absolutely awesome, and I think it really carried the guys on the court in a big way.”
An NCAA COVID-19 advisory panel said Friday it is “not recommending cancellation or public spacing of athletic and related events scheduled to occur in public spaces across the United States.” Johns Hopkins senior scholar Amesh Adalja is on the panel.
The NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournament begin in less than in two weeks. Those games will be played in large arenas in front of crowds of thousands across the country.
Dr. Brian Hainline, the NCAA’s chief medical officer, said in an interview with the AP on Friday night that contingency plans are being discussed and include playing games with only essential personal at the site — as was done at Johns Hopkins.
A student at Yeshiva, an Orthodox Jewish university in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City, tested positive for the virus.
The game was delayed by more than an hour after a Yeshiva rabbi tested positive and the school needed to provide documentation to ensure it was safe to play. WPI waited at its hotel while that was completed, and three players decided not to to take the court because of fears about the virus.
Johns Hopkins offered refunds to fans who bought tickets. Larossa said more than 400 tickets had been sold for the two sessions Friday.
Chi. St. plans to play in WAC
CHICAGO » Chicago State plans to send its men’s and women’s basketball teams to Las Vegas for the WAC Tournament next week after canceling regular-season games because of concerns about the spread of the corona virus.
The school said Friday, based on discussions with the league and its own review of “the current information available,” both teams will travel to their conference tournaments scheduled for March 11-14.