News & notes

Add the first two rounds of the NCAA men's basketball tournament to events being held in empty buildings.

It was reported overnight that the Times-Union Center will still host first & second round games next Thursday & Saturday (March 19 & 21), but only players, coaches, officials, media, and school personnel will be admitted. That means the TUC could take a financial bath over having to refund tickets previously sold for the event months ago. Stay tuned.

Update, 9:03 pm: The tournament as a whole has been cancelled.
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Alumni watch: VCU snapped a 5 game losing streak in baseball Wednesday, beating The Citadel, 8-4. Danny Watson (Columbia) pitched the final two innings in relief, giving up two runs (1 earned) on three hits with a walk and two strikeouts.

The Rams return home to host Iona starting tomorrow night.

Pittsburgh's softball team fell victim to the mercy rule again in a 5 inning, 11-2 loss to Charlotte on Wednesday. Hunter Levesque (Troy High), back in the two hole in the batting order, went 1-2 with a walk and a run scored. The Panthers will play St. Joseph & Campbell in back-to-back doubleheaders as part of the Camel Stampede Friday & Saturday.
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As expected, Siena's Jalen Pickett was named Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of The Year Wednesday. Then, Pickett & the Saints went out and beat Manhattan, 63-49, in the first round of the MAAC men's tournament. Manny Camper led Siena with 15 points, as Elijah Burns (LaSalle) was held to 7 points, while Jordan King (CBA) had 5. The Saints will know by the end of the day who they'll play tomorrow in the semi-finals.
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Coronavirus concerns have prompted The Basketball League to cut their season short, ending with a round robin tournament to determine the league champion. The defending champions, the Albany Patroons, sit in 4th place, but the round robin could help them repeat. We'll have to wait & see.
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Two Ivy League schools, Harvard & Yale, have withdrawn from the ECAC hockey tournament, forcing league officials to shuffle the pairings for this weekend. RPI was to play Harvard in an empty Houston Field House, but now will host Colgate instead, while Quinnipiac will play Princeton. The semi-finals are in Lake Placid next week. The New England based Harvard & Yale cited concerns over coronavirus as the reason for withdrawing.