With no NCAA Tournament staged in 2020, the 2019 national champions, the Virginia Cavaliers, are still the reigning bosses for now. However, they might not even have a chance to compete next week and defend their title, for the same reason that the tourney itself got cancelled last year: COVID-19.
Virginia’s ACC tournament semifinal against Georgia Tech was cancelled due to a positive coronavirus test, subsequent quarantining, and contact tracing within the UVA program.
“We went from an exhilarating game-winning shot to beat Syracuse to a gut punch regarding the positive COVID-19 test within our program,” said head coach Tony Bennett, who led his team to an ACC regular season championship.
“I’m hurting for our players, especially our seniors. I told our young men they have every reason to be disappointed, but it is still very important how they choose to respond. We are exhausting all options to participate in the NCAA Tournament.”
The Cavaliers had a great shot at winning the ACC Tournament, but they had to withdraw from the competition altogether. They have a very solid march madness profile, as they’re ranked #16 in the polls and #15 in the NET rankings. The Cavs also have 5 quad 1 wins to go along with 4 quad two wins.
“This is incredibly disappointing for our players,” Athletic Director Carla Williams.
“They have done what has been asked of them in very challenging circumstances. It is unfortunate the ACC Tournament has concluded for us, but we have turned our attention to the NCAA Tournament. We are in communication with the appropriate officials regarding our participation.”
If Virginia can keep the COVID-19 outbreak contained, and the rest of the team continues to test negative, they would be eligible to play in the tourney. A team only needs five players in total, to show seven consecutive negative daily tests, in order to be eligible.
Obviously that’s not ideal, for a team to only have five dudes, as that means no subs, but at this point, it’s better than no tournament at all.
Duke also had to pull out of the ACC tournament, and their school’s leadership indicated that their season is now over.
However, an ESPN report states that Duke, a team squarely on the bubble right now, would accept a March Madness bid, if selected. Overall, it’s been a down year for the ACC, traditionally the best conference in the country and right now, their tournament isn’t looking very good either.
“I’m heartbroken for our student-athletes, coaches and support staff at both Duke and Virginia,” ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said in a statement.
“We will follow the lead of our medical personnel to ensure the health and safety of our programs remain the top priority. Our student-athletes and schools have been remarkable this entire season while enduring incredibly challenging circumstances.”
The march madness bracket will be unveiled tomorrow and with that in mind, be sure to surf on over to BetQL for spreads, moneylines, over/unders and much more, for every game.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
