CLEVELAND — Moment by moment, it became increasingly clear that the sports world was coming to a grinding stop.
At Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Ohio and Akron players milled around the arena before a scheduled noon game in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference tournament. Half an hour before tip, the in-arena scoreboard changed to reflect a new start time, at 1 p.m.
Minutes later, the MAC called a news conference. About 10 minutes later, the Big Ten canceled its tournament in Indianapolis. Others followed one after another.
Shortly after noon, MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher confirmed what most already suspected: The league's basketball tournaments would be canceled as a precaution against the spread of pandemic COVID-19, marking the end of the road for Bowling Green as it chased the school's first NCAA tournament berth in 52 years.