The NCAA passed the cutoff date without needing a replacement team for its 68-team tournament, but COVID-19 remains a factor for March Madness even before the ball has been tipped.

Kansas will be without a key player for its first-round game. Virginia won’t arrive in Indianapolis until the day before its opener and will have just one full team practice. Oklahoma won’t have its second-leading scorer for the opening weekend. And Georgia Tech will be without its best player, according to a Stadium report.

Sophomore guard De’Vion Harmon tested positive for COVID-19, Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said, taking away one of the eighth-seeded Sooners’ top players for their game against No. 9 Missouri on Saturday in the West Region.

“Players have this as a goal, to play in the NCAA Tournament,” Kruger said over Zoom. “So it’s so sad for De’Vion.”

Harmon, who will miss the first two rounds, traveled with the team to Indianapolis on Monday night and got the news on Tuesday. No other Oklahoma players are believed to be at risk of being held out.

Wednesday, Stadium reported ACC Player of the Year Moses Wright won’t be available for ninth-seeded Georgia Tech against No. 8 Loyola Chicago in the Midwest Region first round game on Friday due to COVID-19 issues. ESPN reported that Wright will miss the second round as well if the Yellow Jackets advance. On Tuesday, coach Josh Pastner said one member of the team’s traveling party tested positive for the virus, but declined t o reveal the person’s role with the team. 

Kansas and Virginia, meanwhile, dropped out of their respective conference tournaments last Friday due to positive tests.

Kansas, the third seed out of the West Region, would appear to be in better shape than Virginia, the fourth seed in the West Region, which will meet No. 13 Ohio on Saturday night. The Cavaliers are still in quarantine following the positive test of a player and contract tracing that has followed. They will only be able to have one full team practice before the tournament, at home on Friday, prior to flying to Indianapolis that afternoon.

Players have been able to only have individual workouts this week, according to coach Tony Bennett.

“You just keep working and making the most of it,” he said. “Not ideal. … This certainly beats the alternative.You want to be in Indianapolis, you want to be doing stuff, but we’re not.”

Kansas has been in Indianapolis since Monday. The Jayhawks will be without third-leading scorer and top rebounder Jalen Wilson on Saturday afternoon, coach Bill Self said. The 6-foot-8 Wilson tested positive for the virus on Friday, prompting Kansas to drop out of the Big 12 Tournament.

If the Jayhawks defeat No. 14 Eastern Washington, Wilson may be able to play in the second round on Monday. Reserve forward Tristan Enaruna, who tested positive for the virus on Sunday, will not be available for either game.

Players have to register seven straight days of negative tests before being permitted to arrive in the NCAA’s “controlled environment” in Indianapolis.

David McCormack, Kansas’ second-leading scorer, will arrive in Indianapolis on Friday and play on Saturday, although he could be dealing with a minutes restriction, Self said. McCormack, a power forward averaging 13.4 points and 6.1 rebounds, tested positive for COVID-19 several days before Enaruna, his roommate, did.

“Good news, bad news,” Self said.

Several players began tweeting the hashtag #NotNCAAProperty on Wednesday afternoon in regard to the NCAA stalling in establishing rules for student-athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness (NIL). Three of them — Geo Baker, Myles Johnson and Ron Harper Jr. — were from Rutgers. Players from Iowa, Wichita State, Michigan and Virginia Tech used the hashtag in tweets as well, expressing their disappointment with the NCAA.

“The NCAA OWNS my name image and likeness,” Baker, a critic in recent months of college sports’ governing body, tweeted. “Someone on music scholarship can profit from an album. Someone on academic scholarship can have a tutor service. For ppl who say ‘an athletic scholarship is enough,’ Anything less than equal rights is never enough. I am #NotNCAAProperty”

Rutgers athletic director Pat Hobbs told The Post he supports his players speaking up. “I think it’s great that our kids are finding their voices, that they’re expressing their opinion, that they are interested in the conversation about where college sports goes, and that’s great. I applaud them. They’re great kids.”

NIL was originally scheduled to be voted on in January, but the vote was delayed. The NCAA said “several external factors, including recent correspondence with the U.S. Department of Justice, prompted members to delay voting on the proposals.” Six states have already passed NIL laws, and 13 others introduced them in 2021. NCAA president Mark Emmert told The Associated Press this week that he wants the new rules in place by the fall.