Virginia is out of the ACC Tournament and could be in danger of sitting out the NCAA Tournament due to a positive COVID-19 test within the program.
After winning the regular-season title and earning the top seed in the tournament, Virginia beat Syracuse in the quarterfinals and was scheduled to face Georgia Tech on Friday in the semifinals. Now, Georgia Tech gets a bye into the final, and Virginia joins Duke as the second team in as many days to withdraw from the ACC Tournament.
“Obviously we’d prefer to win the game to advance to the finals,” Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner said on the ACC Network. “But hey, it is what it is. We’ll have to be ready to play. You’re still playing for a championship.”
What’s next for Virginia?
The team must test negative for seven consecutive days in order to play in the NCAA Tournament, which starts on Thursday, Mar. 18.
The Cavaliers are a lock for the field and wouldn’t have to play until Friday or Saturday, which means they can be included on Selection Sunday but still be possibly forced out if the positive tests continue.
Viriginia and Duke have some company. According to multiple reports, Kansas was booted from the Big 12 Tournament after a player tested positive before Friday’s semifinal against Texas. That player also played in Thursday’s win over Oklahoma. The Jayhawks left two players at home for the tournament, due to COVID-19 protocols.
The NCAA is planning to put together a wait list of bubble teams that were not selected but can take the place of a team that withdraws before the Round of 64.
NCAA senior vice president of men’s basketball Dan Gavitt said a team needs only five healthy players to participate, so another option is for Virginia – or another team in a similar position – to play at reduced strength, unless there is a team-wide outbreak.
North Carolina and Florida State are scheduled to meet in the other ACC semifinal on Friday night, but a source at the conference tournament told CBS Sports that Virginia’s positive test “makes you wonder what we are doing tonight.” If the tournament is cancelled, it is not clear which of the four semifinalists would receive the league’s automatic berth into the Big Dance.
