Atlantic 10 Tournament Game Day Action

[ramster]

It's HERE!
Atlantic 10 Tournament Starts today

1pm 13-seed St Josephs (6-25) vs 12-seed George Mason (16-15). GMU -5.0 points
ESPN+

3:30pm 14-seed Fordham (8-22) vs 11-seed George Washington (12-19). GW -3.0 points
ESPN+

I like GMU to beat St Josephs today. GMU would then move on to play 5-seed St Bonaventure on Thursday

Also like Fordham with the upset today led by 6'11" Freshman Joel Soriano who has really come on the last 6 games of the season. Fordham would then move on to play 6-seed Duquesne on Thursday

[steviep123]

This is cool:

[steviep123]

GMU is up 3 (47-44) at the U12 timeout. SJU going to the line when we return.

[PeterRamTime]

Soriano looking good for ramster

[Rhodymob05]

GW getting pounded by Fordham.

[ramster]

Soriano looking good for ramster

Soriano 12 rebounds, 14 points, 6-8 FG, 2-2 FT leads Fordham to a 20 point drubbing of 11-seed George Washington

And Soriano doesn’t make the A10 Rookie team.

In addition to my upset pick of Fordham over GW I’m now taking the 6’11” Freshman Soriano led Fordham Rams over 6-seed Duquesne tomorrow night.

URI will take on Fordham Friday night

AJ Wilson another A10 unrecognized big man in All Conference voting played well again today.

I’d take Soriano and Wilson over the way over-rated Ryan Daly in a N.Y. Minute

I’ll take efficiency of scoring over points per game every time.

[ramster]

Thursday Action
12pm VCU vs UMASS. VCU -7 points
2:30pm GMU vs SBU. SBU -3.5 points

6pm LaSalle vs Davidson. Davidson -9 points
8:30pm Fordham vs Duquesne. Duquesne -9 points

UMASS is playing well, especially Tre Mitchell
Fordham being led by the 6’11” Soriano, only a freshman but improving rapidly

I think it’s a big upset day with UMASS, GMU and Fordham all shocking the A10 prognosticators. Davidson should dominate LaSalle.

I hope they are all great games since it doesn’t look good for many more in person games to watch this season.

Looking forward to the noon game Thursday.

[rambone 78]

Looks like the sound of one hand clapping [from our buddy Bill R] starting tomorrow.

Likely no fans....will be decided tonight.

[rhodylaw]

Looks like the sound of one hand clapping [from our buddy Bill R] starting tomorrow.

Likely no fans....will be decided tonight.

I feel like UMass or Fordham would have the advantages if there are no fans because they are accustomed to playing in empty arenas.

[rhodyruckus]

Floodgates opening, makes me think A10 will go the same route. AAC will have no spectators, and Big Ten announced this evening at the arena no fans will be allowed tomorrow onward to a chorus of boos.

[steviep123]

[LoveThoseRams]

This is pretty damn annoying. Make a decision already Bernadette. As my hubby said Sh*t or get off the pot.

We are already in NYC and ready to roll....make a GD decision!

[Rhody_JAM]

As someone who is planning on heading down to NYC tomorrow morning, I hope they make some statement sooner rather than later as-to if they are continuing on with the tournament. From what I have read on other fan boards it may be coming down to determining a method on how to reimburse tickets (or not).

[Taylor Swift]

This is pretty damn annoying. Make a decision already Bernadette. As my hubby said Sh*t or get off the pot.

We are already in NYC and ready to roll....make a GD decision!

I really was not expecting this outcome of events at the beginning of the week.

[Rhody_JAM]

Maybe there will be an announcement right after the final Big East game?

I assume the A10 and Big East announcements fall like dominoes...

[ramster]

This is pretty damn annoying. Make a decision already Bernadette. As my hubby said Sh*t or get off the pot.

We are already in NYC and ready to roll....make a GD decision!

I really was not expecting this outcome of events at the beginning of the week.

It’s one thing to announce no fans at NCAA tournament starting a week from now

It’s another to cancel fans tonight for games tomorrow when fans already have their transportation, hotels, time off work, etc
They should play the Big East and A10 Tournaments as they had planned. Too late to change and not much of a reason to change.

Not that many people go to these games anyway.

[sevegny7]

There it is official starting tomorrow no fans at barclays center. Wtf. I guess we are having a watch party in brooklyn at a bar instead?

[jaywin86]

There it is official starting tomorrow no fans at barclays center. Wtf. I guess we are having a watch party in brooklyn at a bar instead?

[hrstrat57]

Things are changing head spinning fast..

NBA done

[Section104]

The NCAA tournament is going to be cancelled and man i feel terrible for Dayton fans

[RF1]

Things are changing head spinning fast..

NBA done for the year.

A Utah Jazz player has preliminarily tested positive for Covid- 19.

[hrstrat57]

[PeterRamTime]

The NCAA tournament is going to be cancelled and man i feel terrible for Dayton fans

Wouldn't be surprised if after the first college player that tests positive for it they just cancel the whole thing.


I'm getting sad.

[sevegny7]

Is anyone still heading to brooklyn regardless?

[Rhodyram]

Is anyone still heading to brooklyn regardless?

Nope.

[hrstrat57]

Breaking:
(Not hoops related)
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson just announced they’re both covid19 positive.

They’re in quarantine in Australia



Sports:

[daytonflyerfan]

The NCAA tournament is going to be cancelled and man i feel terrible for Dayton fans

The timing of this could NOT be worse.

[Sweep The Leg]

Fred Hoiberg looked in rough shape on the Nebraska bench. If he tests positive, that may lead the NCAA to cancel the NCAA tournament.

[rhodyruckus]

Fred Hoiberg was transported by ambulance and did not finish the game. Uh, not good news if you want any basketball action in the near future.

Edit: And damn, I just read he has a history of heart issues with surgeries. Makes me even more nervous for him if this is coronavirus, thoughts are with him and family that this is not as serious as it looks.

[PCFriars]

This really sucks for everyone, but I’d be really surprised if any of these conference tournaments continue after tonight. I’m just sad and I can’t really describe why. This is all just very overwhelming and hard to really understand and wrap your head around.

Brings us together as sports fans, regardless of who we root for. Some things are bigger than sports, and if we can’t all come together in the face of an inanimate threat like this, then we really are doomed as a human race. Something like this can’t be polarizing and politicized.

[TruePoint]

Fred Hoiberg was transported by ambulance and did not finish the game. Uh, not good news if you want any basketball action in the near future.

Edit: And damn, I just read he has a history of heart issues with surgeries. Makes me even more nervous for him if this is coronavirus, thoughts are with him and family that this is not as serious as it looks.

Reckless. I’m all about toughing it out. MJ’s ‘97 Game 5 still gives me the chills. But this is not the time for that kind of shit, so your last place team can get blown out in a conference tournament first round game.

[PeterRamTime]

Enjoying this DePaul Xavier game.

Might be the last basketball we see for a while.

Ugh...

[Taylor Swift]

This really sucks for everyone, but I’d be really surprised if any of these conference tournaments continue after tonight. I’m just sad and I can’t really describe why. This is all just very overwhelming and hard to really understand and wrap your head around.

Brings us together as sports fans, regardless of who we root for. Some things are bigger than sports, and if we can’t all come together in the face of an inanimate threat like this, then we really are doomed as a human race. Something like this can’t be polarizing and politicized.

Absolutely. Thank you for posting this.

[PeterRamTime]

This really sucks for everyone, but I’d be really surprised if any of these conference tournaments continue after tonight. I’m just sad and I can’t really describe why. This is all just very overwhelming and hard to really understand and wrap your head around.

Brings us together as sports fans, regardless of who we root for. Some things are bigger than sports, and if we can’t all come together in the face of an inanimate threat like this, then we really are doomed as a human race. Something like this can’t be polarizing and politicized.

Absolutely. Thank you for posting this.

I second this.

This is something we will all be dealing with on multiple levels.

Actually getting sick. Maybe losing someone. God knows just how impactful this will be economically.

It's an opportunity for all of us to find common ground and come together.

[reef]

This is just really awful and I pray the NCAA tournament is not cancelled especially for the Dsyton fans

[ramster]

[mjg13x]

Fred Hoiberg was transported by ambulance and did not finish the game. Uh, not good news if you want any basketball action in the near future.

Edit: And damn, I just read he has a history of heart issues with surgeries. Makes me even more nervous for him if this is coronavirus, thoughts are with him and family that this is not as serious as it looks.

Reckless. I’m all about toughing it out. MJ’s ‘97 Game 5 still gives me the chills. But this is not the time for that kind of shit, so your last place team can get blown out in a conference tournament first round game.

Toughing it out isn't really smart when you're highly contagious and touching a ball that about 15 other people will have their hands all over. Don't forget the refs. Or the pre and post game handshakes or elbow bumps or what have you. And sometimes that ball goes into the crowd and people touch it. And then they touch things in that arena that hundreds of others touch. And then they go home and touch their families. And then their kids go to school. And so on.

[ramster]

Fred Hoiberg was transported by ambulance and did not finish the game. Uh, not good news if you want any basketball action in the near future.

Edit: And damn, I just read he has a history of heart issues with surgeries. Makes me even more nervous for him if this is coronavirus, thoughts are with him and family that this is not as serious as it looks.

Reckless. I’m all about toughing it out. MJ’s ‘97 Game 5 still gives me the chills. But this is not the time for that kind of shit, so your last place team can get blown out in a conference tournament first round game.

Toughing it out isn't really smart when you're highly contagious and touching a ball that about 15 other people will have their hands all over. Don't forget the refs. Or the pre and post game handshakes or elbow bumps or what have you. And sometimes that ball goes into the crowd and people touch it. And then they touch things in that arena that hundreds of others touch. And then they go home and touch their families. And then their kids go to school. And so on.

So they are cancelling attendance because they are afraid fans will bring the coronavirus to the players. Restricting people from going near the locker rooms. But then here is the Coach attending the game when he obviously should have been home in isolation. Not exactly leading by example.

[phipsiGD'11]

Turns out that he doesn't have Corona virus.

[TruePoint]

Reckless. I’m all about toughing it out. MJ’s ‘97 Game 5 still gives me the chills. But this is not the time for that kind of shit, so your last place team can get blown out in a conference tournament first round game.

Toughing it out isn't really smart when you're highly contagious and touching a ball that about 15 other people will have their hands all over. Don't forget the refs. Or the pre and post game handshakes or elbow bumps or what have you. And sometimes that ball goes into the crowd and people touch it. And then they touch things in that arena that hundreds of others touch. And then they go home and touch their families. And then their kids go to school. And so on.

So they are cancelling attendance because they are afraid fans will bring the coronavirus to the players.

Wtf? This is definitely not why they are “cancelling attendance.”

[ramster]

Toughing it out isn't really smart when you're highly contagious and touching a ball that about 15 other people will have their hands all over. Don't forget the refs. Or the pre and post game handshakes or elbow bumps or what have you. And sometimes that ball goes into the crowd and people touch it. And then they touch things in that arena that hundreds of others touch. And then they go home and touch their families. And then their kids go to school. And so on.

So they are cancelling attendance because they are afraid fans will bring the coronavirus to the players.

Wtf? This is definitely not why they are “cancelling attendance.”

They specifically said they are keeping the fans and the players separate as possible. They also said they are restricting access to anywhere near the locker rooms. They do not want fans and players anywhere near one another. I get it. Makes sense. Now taking a step further and having no fans at all.

Just cancel the games. Keep it simple. Players saying they don't need the fans there anyway, fans don't make a difference.

Cut FAN Attendance Bait.

[TruePoint]

Is this a bit that you’re doing here?

They’re keeping fans out because mass gatherings of people is dangerous for the people. They’re keeping fans away from each other. Obviously everyone would rather have the fans there - players, coaches, fans, the people putting on the event. They’re taking a precaution for the public good. Fans should be happy they are still putting the games on because at least we can take enjoyment from watching it on television. The idea that someone would say “I wish they would just not play the games at all” is so unbelievably bizarre to me that it seems like the thought of a malfunctioning brain. If they can play the game safely then I definitely want to watch it, especially if I’m trapped in my house.

[rhodyruckus]

I agree these games should go on, I don't see a lot of good to cancel now (other than symbolically) that the kids are already stationed in Brooklyn AND there won't be fans present to exacerbate the spread. Ideally all the players could be tested and cleared for the sake of it not spreading from player to player, but as we know those "million tests" we were promised by end of last week aren't materializing anytime soon. A player having a known case is the only event I could see where canceling would be absolutely necessary.

The NCAA tourney is a different animal, because that requires travel around the country and potential introduction of sick players and staff to non-sick areas, and vice versa. One could argue this exercise can exacerbate the speed of the virus transmittal.

[ramster]

Is this a bit that you’re doing here?

They’re keeping fans out because mass gatherings of people is dangerous for the people. They’re keeping fans away from each other. Obviously everyone would rather have the fans there - players, coaches, fans, the people putting on the event. They’re taking a precaution for the public good. Fans should be happy they are still putting the games on because at least we can take enjoyment from watching it on television. The idea that someone would say “I wish they would just not play the games at all” is so unbelievably bizarre to me that it seems like the thought of a malfunctioning brain. If they can play the game safely then I definitely want to watch it, especially if I’m trapped in my house.

There were 2400 people at the Barclays yesterday. That's for two games. There is no way the 2400 people were there for both games in the session so more likely only 1500 per game in 17,000 seats.

To think that Caronavirus was going to spread from 2 people sitting together to the other 2 people 12 seats away is bizarre.

These games are always lightly attended

There are 14 teams that the tickets are spread across.

Even the Championship Game is not well attended.

It was bizarre to play the first games on Wednesday. It was more bizarre to then cancel on Thursday with fans already in New York, or in transit, or abut to board a train.

Poorly managed. Poorly communicated. Nonexistent information on how to get reimbursed.

Should have cancelled Tuesday at the latest. Showed little or no appreciation for the Fans.

It's bizarre for me to say because the A10 has pissed off one of their most loyal college basketball fans. I'll cool down. I'll go watch the games now at a bar loaded with people where the chances of getting Coronavirus are about 10,000 times more likely than in a Barclays Center with only 15% of the seats occupied.

[TruePoint]

It’s not just people sitting 10 feet apart. Cmon. This is silly. It’s standing next to people in line, touching handles and whatever in bathrooms, on and on. What is the issue here, exactly? I get being disappointed this is happening but the whining about it just seems so childish to me, like my kids when I tell them they have to finish their dinner before they get ice cream or they have to brush their teeth before bed. Even if they don’t like it, it’s for their own good - someone has to be the adults.

[ramster]

It’s not just people sitting 10 feet apart. Cmon. This is silly. It’s standing next to people in line, touching handles and whatever in bathrooms, on and on. What is the issue here, exactly? I get being disappointed this is happening but the whining about it just seems so childish to me, like my kids when I tell them they have to finish their dinner before they get ice cream or they have to brush their teeth before bed. Even if they don’t like it, it’s for their own good - someone has to be the adults.

Go back to your political rambling.

[PeterRamTime]

They have to keep the fans out of it at this point.

I still don't think they need to cancel any tournaments.

I just dont feel that there will be enough people there to make that much of a difference on whether the virus will be spread or not.

I mean if the teams and the few family members that do get to go to the games are considered to much of a gathering of people, then why would anybody be allowed to go to the grocery store? Grocery stores will still have far more people interacting. As will people just everyday walking around the street.

Everybody is on high alert and you would think the people who do attend the games will be taking serious precautions.


Just think that canceling fan attendance is about the biggest impact they can make.

[ramster]

For Today's Thursday Action

12pm VCU vs UMASS. VCU -7 points
2:30pm GMU vs SBU. SBU -3.5 points - has moved up to -4.5 points

6pm LaSalle vs Davidson. Davidson -9 points
8:30pm Fordham vs Duquesne. Duquesne -9 points - has moved up to 9.5 points

Will be interesting to see time impact of no fans in the stands. VCU would have had a large contingent based on past years. This could be an advantage to UMASS

Fordham, bing the local team, might suffer a bit from zero fans in attendance.


UMASS is playing well, especially Tre Mitchell
Fordham being led by the 6’11” Soriano, only a freshman but improving rapidly

I think it’s a big upset day with UMASS, GMU and Fordham all shocking the A10 prognosticators. Davidson should dominate LaSalle.

I hope they are all great games since it doesn’t look good for many more in person games to watch this season.

Looking forward to the noon game Thursday.

[ramster]

They have to keep the fans out of it at this point.

I still don't think they need to cancel any tournaments.

I just dont feel that there will be enough people there to make that much of a difference on whether the virus will be spread or not.

I mean if the teams and the few family members that do get to go to the games are considered to much of a gathering of people, then why would anybody be allowed to go to the grocery store? Grocery stores will still have far more people interacting. As will people just everyday walking around the street.

Everybody is on high alert and you would think the people who do attend the games will be taking serious precautions.


Just think that canceling fan attendance is about the biggest impact they can make.

If you are going to keep 2000 fans out of a 17000 seat arena and it is the right thing to do then fine. It's done

But don't send those 2000 fans to local bars. And if cancelling fans had happened on Monday you would not have all the fans of 8 A10 teams in NYC waiting for today's games to start. Decision might be right but it was too late in coming.

Read about Italy. If it is the right thing to do then go all out - now. Already waited too long to shut down cruise lines and flights. Now they shut down cruise lines and flights. If they had done that a month ago then we wouldn't be in this mess that keeps growing and has decimated the world economy

Italy Bars and Restaurants Ordered to Close

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/12/italy-s ... close.html

[JimSidd]

The situation sucks, and I bought three packages and we were ready to head to NYC this morning, but this is bigger than sports. If the government and specifically the health agencies did little to nothing and the spread exacerbated, it would be severely criticized by the public, and rightfully so. They’re simply trying to curtail large gatherings to limit the spread. Officials have more decisions to make over the coming days, like do elementary and high schools close for a while, where it will be much harder to institute on line learning, and do church services get cancelled , which has already taken place in the diocese of Seattle.

As to the timing of the announcement of no fans, I agree. We were able to cancel our hotel reservation last night even though the email stated it had to be done by 11:59 Tuesday night. They understood the mitigating circumstances. My Ramette daughter was on her way to campus for practice when she got a text that the spirit squads were no longer attending: that was late. I feel bad for those fans that were already in NYC. There must have been a lot of VCU fans there. We know how well that group travels and they have the noon game today, so most probably arrived last night.
You know that the conference officials didn’t want to do this and felt pressured because of what the other conferences were doing, but they should have decided by Tuesday afternoon to avoid these fan issues.