March Madness getting canceled in 2020 sent shockwaves throughout college basketball.
The NCAA announced its decision to cancel the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments on Thursday afternoon. Stunning the sport with the sudden change, coaches and players expressed opinions on social media.
Other coaches also gave interviews to address the season ending out of nowhere.
“Extremely, extremely disappointed. Extremely disappointed,” Gonzaga’s Mark Few said on ESPN. “I think all of us felt we could postpone, and even postpone into May or whatever and if we needed to cancel, we could cancel then. But if that’s what they’re doing, then I guess that’s what they’re doing. This is a sad, sad day. I think we probably could have at least paused or delayed it.”
MORE: Timeline of college hoops and coronavirus
Seniors had their careers end without a final game. Championships went undecided in numerous conferences. And the magic of capturing the nation’s attention for three weeks is gone in an instant. March Madness getting canceled had a huge impact on the sport.
1) We are disappointed we aren’t able to continue our season, but this is much bigger than basketball. This is a worldwide issue and we understand that difficult decisions needed to be made.
— Purdue’s Matt Painter (@CoachPainter) March 12, 2020
The health and safety of our student-athletes, support staff, families and friends are the top priority at this moment. pic.twitter.com/Jy81jcp6jW
— Mike Brey (@CoachMikeBrey) March 12, 2020
This is tough for real 💔
— Jordan Nwora (@JordanNwora) March 12, 2020
Wild to think it’s over this way.. but these past 4 years have been all I could dream of and I’m forever grateful for the opportunity to represent my school and state to the best of my ability!! Thank you for all of the support!! pic.twitter.com/mNPgrZthnl
— Kristian Doolittle (@kristiandoolit1) March 12, 2020
Nightmare ...
— Devon Dotson (@d_dotson1) March 12, 2020
Definitely didn’t think this would be how my time at UW ends. It’s been an amazing ride the past 5 years. Thanks to everyone who has helped make me the player I am today. #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/YJ6b7hGpv5
— Brevin Pritzl (@BrevinPritzl) March 12, 2020
Doesn’t seem real still... 😪 https://t.co/PUMxThVMgC
— Tre Jones (@Tre3Jones) March 12, 2020
