How will the Big East tourney work?

If a team at next month’s Big East tournament has a player or staff member test positive for COVID-19, the team could still continue to play if the rest of the team isn’t affected as determined through contact tracing. Unlikely, but possible.

But if a team has multiple positive tests, or multiple players needing to quarantine through contact tracing?

“In all likelihood, that team will be knocked out,” Big East men’s basketball associate commissioner Stu Jackson told Hearst Connecticut Media. “Because you don’t want to risk affecting other teams. We have teams whose objective is to go on to the NCAA tournament, and we wouldn’t want to jeopardize that opportunity.”

That’s just one of many issues Jackson and league staff members have been dealing with on a nearly daily basis, and will continue to address over the next month, with the 2021 Big East men’s basketball tournament scheduled to tip off on March 10.

“On the one hand,” Jackson said, “the process of planning itself isn’t very different for the basketball operations staff and our conference office staff as a whole. What is different is just the attention to the details, as it involves protocols around Covid, to help mitigate any issues around Covid for our student-athletes or coaches and our staffs. That’s

been the major difference and, quite frankly, an area where we spent a considerable amount of time.”

Here’s what we know as of now:

THE TOURNAMENT WILL BE HELD, PER USUAL, AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

No other contingency plans (another building, home sites) are really even being considered.

“Our focus at this point has been purely to play at the Garden,” said Jackson. “They’ve been great to work with. They’ve got a leg up, in that they’re running events now, with the Knicks having played. Their protocols are in place for not only the teams but the staff at the Garden. They are perfectly capable of running an event in this environment. And that’s to our advantage.”

The league, of course, is contracted to play at the Garden through 2028. But that didn’t play into the decision.

“We feel that we have the best conference tournament in the country, historically,” Jackson added, “and part of the reason for that is playing at Madison Square Garden. Madison Square Garden is the Big East, and the Big East is Madison Square Garden. Neither organization wanted to tamper with that brand. So, from Day 1, we’ve always anticipated playing at Madison Square Garden.”

THERE WILL BE NO FANS IN THE BUILDING

Commissioner Val Ackerman said so earlier in the week, and Jackson confirmed it. Currently, both the Knicks and Rangers aren’t allowing fans at games, and it doesn’t appear MSG will change its policy by March 10. And that will likely include friends and families of players and coaches, as well. Remember, this is a multi-team event with several games scheduled for each day, making it tricky to have to shuffle families in and out once their sons’ games are finished for that day.

DON’T EXPECT ANY TEAMS TO ‘OPT OUT’ OF THE TOURNAMENT

Several big-name college basketball coaches — including UConn women’s coach Geno Auriemma — have questioned the necessity of conference tournaments this season. Some have noted that teams that are virtual shoo-ins for the NCAA tournament might consider opting out of the league tourney, to eliminate the risk of COVID-19 exposure that could affect their participation in the Big Dance.

Big East by-laws prohibit teams from opting out of the Big East tourney.

“That being said,” Jackson noted, “we anticipate that all 11 teams — barring any sort of COVID-related issues that prohibits them — will be at Madison Square Garden to participate in the tournament.”

Otherwise, there are numerous other issues still to be determined, in an effort to make the Big East tournament as safe as possible for all involved:

Team hotels. In the past, teams have selected their own hotels to stay at for the week. This year, it’s expected that all 11 teams will stay at the same hotel. Each team will likely have its own floor, similar to what Mohegan Sun Arena did with “Bubbleville” at the start of the season. Players will likely have their own rooms, as well, as opposed to doubling up in the past.

Meals: There will likely be a minimum number of buffet-type dining at the team hotel and, instead, a lot of “grab-and-go” meals.

⏩ Transportation: The league will likely adopt the NCAA protocol of minimizing the number of people on team buses going to and from the arena to 12 people. ⏩ Referees: They will likely stay at the same hotel as the teams, and will be asked to isolate themselves in their rooms as much as possible when not working. The league will have an “ample supply of referees” in case an official tests positive.

Practices: In the past, teams have often used local high school or college gyms at which to practice during the week. Many of those gyms are currently closed, but the league is in the process of vetting one or two facilities that will allow teams to practice. Also, the Garden will be more available for practice times than in the past, since the Knicks will be on break and the league has the building to itself.

⏩ Testing: It will be daily, each morning, and the results will be known quickly, according to Jackson.