March Madness wasn’t supposed to play out this way.

As the spread of the COVID-19 in the United States continues to unfold, the college basketball world is the latest to stop play.

Multiple conferences announced Thursday morning that they would cancel their tournaments immediately, including the American Athletic Conference.

The AAC’s move left the UConn men’s basketball team stranded in Fort Worth, Texas on Thursday afternoon looking for a plane to return to Storrs, Conn.

“Last night we had a pretty good sense that when we woke up today there was the potential for this,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “It’s a surreal situation to be involved in and now it’s just trying to figure out how to get home as quickly and as safely as we can get these guys and staff members home.”

The fifth-seeded Huskies (19-12, 10-8 AAC) were scheduled to play No. 12 Tulane (12-18, 4-14) at 3 p.m. EST on Thursday in the opening round of the tournament at Dickies Arena.

The conference announced just before noon EST that it was called the tournament off, with multiple other conferences also making the same decision.

UConn senior Christian Vital tweeted shortly after the announcement: “WOW! Safety First Of Course But Hearing That Just Now Hurt. Hoping Everyone Can Stay In Great Health During This Time.”

Hurley said the buzz had already begun last night about the possibility the tournament would not get played. Once the NBA announced it was cancelling the rest of its season after a Utah Jazz players tested positive for the virus, it hit even closer to home.

"The room was buzzing because the NBA had just been suspended and Rudy Gobert (testing positive), so the room was buzzing about the virus and how it was impacting sports,” Hurley said. “The team was disappointed, and I think, just mostly shocked by it.

“You couldn’t even say sadness because I don’t think it’s even hit home yet because I think everyone is shocked and a little bit frightened.”

Asked what he tells the team going forward, Hurley said that would be addressed at s one point, but getting home was the main concern.

“Our number one concern right now is the safety of these guys while we are very far away from home,” Hurley said. “Number two is where do these players go when we get back to campus. Are they better off on campus?

“Our focus is on getting out of here and where do the players go when we get back.”

Hurley added that school officials had discussed Wednesday night trying “to get ahead of this and having a plane here Thursday morning.”

However, the Huskies were prepared to play against Tulane if the AAC had gone forward with the games.

"Based on the way things are going, it would have been hard to lead our team on the court," Hurley said.