UCI’s Russell Turner reacts to Big West decision to cancel tourney over coronavirus concerns

A look at the trophy that UCI won last year after the Big West Tourney. (Photo Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone)

The Big West men’s and women’s basketball tournaments have been canceled, Big West officials said in a release Thursday morning.

The conference earlier this week announced that the tournament would be played without fans and the women’s tournament was under way.

Top-seeded UCI was scheduled to face Long Beach State Thursday at 6 p.m. at Honda Center in the opening round of the men’s tournament. UCI won the regular season title. The winner of the conference tournament has had an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament, which is scheduled to be played without fans.

“We are obviously disappointed that we are not allowed to compete,” said UCI Coach Russell Turner. “But we are relieved and grateful for our health and the appropriate decisions that have been made. I applaud the decision-makers and the actions that were taken, although we are disappointed we won’t get the chance to play in the Big West Tournament.”

“This is a serious issue for our country and our community and we need to get it right. Sometimes difficult decisions must be made and while we may be inconvenienced with some of those decisions I think we can all be appreciative of all we have here.”

“My hope is that we can stop the spread of this virus and test our players for their health and safety. My hope is also that there will be an NCAA Tournament if there is a way our leaders think that can happen without putting anyone at risk.”

Here is the release from the Big West:

“The Big West Conference announced today that it will be cancelling the Big West Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament, effective immediately.

“The main priority of the Big West 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 news comes as most other conferences announced they would also be canceling their post-season conference tournaments. The ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC also canceled tournaments, according to reports on ESPN.

This story will be updated as more information comes in