Men's Basketball

A look at the chaotic 2 hours that led to end of ACC tournament

Jordan Phelps | Staff Photographer

The Orange basketball team is planning to travel back to Syracuse from Greensboro, a team spokesman said.

By Josh Schafer, Nick AlvarezThe Daily Orange

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Less than an hour after Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner John Swofford confirmed the ACC Tournament would continue, more news broke.

First, it was the Big Ten. Then the Southeastern Conference and Big 12 canceled their tournaments amid the spread of coronavirus. At 12:16 p.m., an ACC spokesperson canceled the tournament its commissioner previously ensured would go on.

“Any time one of the five conferences have announced what they’re doing the last two days, we’ve all arrived there together; it’s just a question of when somebody announces it,” Swofford explained. 

Every Power 5 conference has canceled its tournament and it’s unclear what information caused the influx. During Swofford’s press conference on Thursday morning, a second confirmed coronavirus case was announced in the NBA. Major League Soccer suspended its season. The commissioners of the Power 5 conferences called once more sometime between the press conference and noon, and ACC announcements trickled out. 

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As of Thursday afternoon, there have been more than 1,300 reported coronavirus cases and at least 38 deaths in the U.S., according to The New York Times. 

Swofford and other ACC spokespeople repeatedly referred to the situation as “fluid,” but added no more context as to why the decision was announced less than 10 minutes before tip-off of Thursday’s first game between Florida State and Clemson. In the corner of the arena, as Swofford spoke, the countdown to tip-off stood still at 8:49 remaining.

“We came to the conclusion that the best thing to do and the most prudent thing to do and the safest thing to do would be to end the tournament at this point,” Swofford said. “We’ll see what happens at the NCAA Tournament and we’ll be having discussions today as well about what to do with our spring sports going forward also.”  

Syracuse was informed of the news Thursday by the ACC and is currently working on travel plans back to Syracuse, team spokesperson Pete Moore said. 

“I thought it was a safe thing to play games without fans,” Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim told The Athletic. “The problem is the NBA can postpone for weeks and still play the end of the season and the playoffs. We can’t.”

Action around the sports world began Wednesday, including eliminating most fans from the NCAA Tournament and the suspension of the NBA season. Syracuse’s 81-53 win over North Carolina was intended as the final ACC tournament game with a full crowd of fans.

Speculation swirled after the game surrounding the tournament, with many coaches and players unsure of the tournament’s future. 

“This could’ve been our last game,” Boeheim said after the win. 

But before the conference reversed course, it appeared SU’s quarterfinal matchup with third-seeded Louisville was on. Each of the four teams in the morning session — Florida State, Clemson, Duke, North Carolina State — were given 150 tickets for family members and other fans. Ushers walked fans to sections 107 through 112 in the Greensboro Coliseum. All others were blockaded or curtained off. 


Spectra hospitality employees prepped two food stands instead of the customary 15 to 16, one said. On a usual gameday, 80 workers would attend. On Thursday, only 15 came.

The top-seeded Seminoles, eventual tournament winners by default, had first pick of where their fans sat. Garnet and gold-clad spectators filtered into section 112 and some Clemson fans filed in, too.

As employees entered the Greensboro Coliseum Thursday morning, one said, supervisors distributed travel-size hand sanitizer bottles. They were instructed to scrub the banisters between seats. But then Swofford walked onto the court and delivered the news.

An instrumental version of Logic’s “One Day” scored the hectic aftermath. FSU fans cheered an auto-bid, others exited the Coliseum. Near the media dining room, an event chef unbuttoned his jacket. He worked a grill for 20 hours over two days, he said, and now had approximately 500 pounds of beef wasted. 

Swofford was unclear about next week’s NCAA Tournament. He cited a needed “desire” from institutions to have the event, which he hinted may not have been present with the ACC tournament. But, as most things have transpired in the last 48 hours, plans are subject to change.

“It’s an extraordinary situation,” Swofford said. “None of us that are involved in it (have) really dealt with anything like it. And hopefully never will again.”

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