Big Ten Cancels the Remainder of the Conference Tournament

The University of Wisconsin will not get a chance to sweep the Big Ten two championships.

Big Ten officials announced Thursday morning that the remaining games of the league’s 2020 men’s basketball tournament have been canceled. The decision was made shortly before Michigan and Rutgers were set to play the first of four second-round games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The winner of that game was scheduled to face top-seeded Wisconsin at 11 a.m. Friday.

A UW spokesman confirmed to BadgerBlitz that the Badgers were still in Madison at the time of the conference’s announcement.

“The Big Ten Conference will use this time to work with the appropriate medical experts and institutional leadership to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the conference said in a statement.

“The main priority of the Big Ten Conference continues to be the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, fans and media as we continue to monitor all developing and relevant information on the COVID-19 virus."

The conference has held a postseason tournament yearly since its inception in 1998. Wisconsin has won the tournament three times, most recently in 2015.