Photo Credit: Kirby Lee – USA TODAY Sports
This time last year, the NCAA was gearing up for it’s month of March Madness, and the highly anticipated NCAA Tournament before it was all cancelled due to COVID-19. This year, teams are doing the same, with hopes that their chance at a championship won’t be taken away again due to the virus.
Conference tournaments took a few hits last week, with four teams already having to back out of the competition because of COVID-19. Teams in the Mid-Eastern Athletic, ACC, and Big 12 were all included in the bunch that received the bad news. Those teams included Duke, North Carolina A&T, Virginia, and Kansas. Each program received at least one positive coronavirus test, which resulted in the early ending to their season.
North Carolina A&T won the Southern Division of their conference, which would have made them a number one seed for their tournament. Being that the conference tournament was their one chance at getting a bid for the NCAA tournament, their tournament hopes are now halted until next year. After playing such a great season, the pandemic has taken it away from the players in a blink of an eye. North Carolina A&T Athletic Director Earl Hilton stated, “To get to this point and have it taken away before we even get a chance to play is devastating. The global pandemic has proven to be unpredictable, and its outcomes are often cruel.”
Along with the Aggies is their long time neighbor, the Duke Blue Devils who will now have to rely on the faith of being selected by officials in order to play in the NCAA Tournament. However, Duke’s Athletic Director Kevin White made an official statement for the team, stating, “As a result, this will end our 2020-21 season.”
As for Kansas and Virginia, they are currently in a safe-zone, as both teams have records good enough to having a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Instead, they must focus on the health of their players and staff. Each team reported to the NCAA that a player tested positive, so they must be as cautious as possible.
Commenting on the situation, Virginia Athletic Director Carla Williams stated, “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.”
Prepping for this year’s tournament, the NCAA prepared a system of alternates, where they would already have a list of teams ready to enter the tournament in case any team was not able to play. The deadline for this protocol will be Tuesday, March 16, 2021. That will be the last day a team can withdraw, and be replaced by another..
In order for a team to qualify to enter the tournament, a good overall record of their games played, and their health is required. Each team must have seven straight days of negative COVID-19 test results in order to go to Indianapolis where the tournament will be held. As long as a team can bring at least five players, they will be considered ready to play.
After advancing to the ACC finals, Florida State Head Coach Leonard Hamilton stated, “Regardless of how much you’re washing your hands, wearing masks, practicing all the safety measures and regulations that we’ve been practicing all year long, and then you come up here at the end and something unfortunately happens. You really don’t even know where it came from and how it happened. That’s just the nature of what we’re dealing with.”
This year’s March Madness will be like no other.
