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SEC, other conferences cancel men's basketball tournaments

The Big Ten, the Big 12, the SEC, the ACC and others have canceled the remainder of their conference basketball tournaments due to coronavirus concerns.

The Big Ten Conference, the Southeastern Conference, the Atlantic Coast conference and the American Athletic Conference have all canceled the remainder of their Men's Basketball Tournaments. 

The conferences made the announcements official Thursday shortly before noon Eastern time. 

In a statement, the Big Ten conference said it will use the 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 added that the the focus will be on the health, safety and wellness of student-athletes, coaches, administrators and fans.

On Wednesday night, the NCAA announced that the upcoming men's and women's basketball tournaments would be played without public fans in attendance. 

The SEC said its tournament was being canceled "based on the latest developments and the continued spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19)." 

American Athletic Conference commissioner Mike Aresco announced Thursday morning that the 2020 Air Force Reserve Men's Basketball Championship would not be played. 

"The decision was made in consultation with the Conference’s leadership in light of recent developments regarding the spread of the COVID-19 virus. This is a proactive decision to protect the safety, health and well-being of our student-athletes, coaches and staff and all involved with the tournament," he said. 

The Atlantic Coast Conference released the following statement on Twitter:

“The Atlantic Coast Conference has suspended all athletic-related activities including all competition, formal and organized practice, recruiting and participation in NCAA championships until further notice." 

The Atlantic Coast Conference said it would immediately cancel the remainder of its 2020 tournament. Florida State will represent the league as the ACC champion in the NCAA tournament.

The Big 12 Conference canceled both its men's and women's tournaments at a press conference Thursday. 

"We believe this is the right thing," Big 12 Conference Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said. "I feel terrible for the seniors involved in this tournament. We just felt in the interest of heeding the advice we were hearing and being conservative with everybody's best health that cancellation was the right outcome for both our men's and women's tournaments." 

The PAC-12 Conference canceled the remainder of its Men's Basketball Tournament. "The decision has been made in consultation with our member universities in an effort to limit the spread of the virus," a statement said.

The Big East conference said its tournament was canceled following "a call with our Presidents and Athletics Directors and additional consultation with the City of New York." 

The Missouri Valley Conference canceled its Women's Basketball tournament. All Conference spring sports contests have been suspended through March 30. 

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This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

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