First Four, NCAA Tournament games in Washington, Ohio, Texas to be played without fans

The NCAA Tournament may see games played without fans in Washington, Ohio and Texas after local politicians banned gatherings amid coronavirus concerns.

There will be no fans allowed to watch the First Four games in Dayton and the regional in Cleveland will also take place without spectators in attendance.

The news was relayed from Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post and Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, however, the NCAA has yet to make a formal statement regarding these events.

Ohio is not the only state affected by the coronavirus and ordering a ban of large gatherings, which is having widespread effects among the sports community. Seattle has been hit hard with the spread of the coronavirus and Governor Jay Inslee has restricted gatherings of more than 250 people. Spokane is the host city for first and second-round games in the NCAA Tournament.

“Today I am ordering, pursuant to my emergency powers, that certain events in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties with more than 250 people are prohibited by order of the governor,” Inslee said, via the Seattle Times.

Further, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said all city-related events in March will be canceled or postponed. Houston is a host city in the South Regional with games scheduled for March 27 and March 29.

Exercising caution and taking necessary safety measures has been at the forefront of some conferences and professional leagues this week. MLB, NHL, NBA and the MLS are restricting media access at their games. The Golden State Warriors announced on Wednesday they’ll be playing home games indefinitely without fans.

Opening Day in Seattle for the Mariners has been relocated.

The Ivy League canceled the men’s and women’s conference tournaments out of concern for the coronavirus. The ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, among other conferences have taken measures to prevent media access to the players and coaches.

Colleges are closing and spring football practices and spring games are being postponed, canceled or access limited to essential personnel only.

The NCAA Tournament teams will be set on Selection Sunday with 68 teams preparing to travel for games, but it’s unclear what the NCAA’s stance will be in regard to relocating games, postponing games or canceling the tournament outright.

The best-case scenario based on the decisions from various conferences, professional sports teams and decisions made by mayors and governors across the country is to play the games in the cities they are set to be played without fans in attendance and media access limited.

Until the NCAA provides an update in response to these safeguards, time is running out to set up a contingency plan with the First Four games beginning on Tuesday, March 17.

Stay tuned for more developments in regard to the coronavirus and how it’ll affect the NCAA Tournament.

The novel coronavirus and COVID-19, the disease it causes, first emerged in Wuhan, China in December 2019. The virus spreads similarly to influenza, with sneezing and coughing as the primary vectors of infection. To date, more than 90,000 cases have been confirmed in more than 70 countries worldwide, including the United States. The World Health Organization declared it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on Jan. 30 and countries have implemented curfews, travel bans and mandatory quarantines to help prevent its spread.

For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for your state’s Department of Health.

For more NCAA basketball news, analysis, opinion and features, check out more from the FanSided college basketball section to stay on top of the latest action.