The Virginia Cavaliers are out of the ACC Tournament following a positive COVID test on the team. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will advance to the ACC Tournament Championship and will play the winner between the Florida State Seminoles and the North Carolina Tar Heels. This is the protocol for NCAA games during the Coronavirus Pandemic that shut down college basketball one year ago. The Cavalier’s fate for the NCAA tournament now hangs in the balance. This could be the end of their season despite being a lock for the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
Source says Virginia needs to work through county protocols on contact tracing and quarantining to get the Ok to go to the NCAAT. Hopeful but obviously not certain it can participate.
— Dana O’Neil? (@DanaONeilWriter) March 12, 2021
This comes one day after the Duke Blue Devils were also forced to pull out of the ACC Tournament due to a positive COVID-19 test. The major difference here is the Blue Devils were not an NCAA Tournament team this year, but Virginia was a likely three seed this year. This is the first instance of a Tournament team testing positive and having their NCAA Tournament chances be in jeopardy because of the virus.
The hope is the team will be able to play in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, but it will largely depend on further testing and contact tracing. The team released the following statement after the positive test:
“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.” Carla Williams (@ADWilliamsUVA)
Details: https://t.co/51lRF6lEje#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/1GM2jiGZAE— Virginia Cavaliers (@VirginiaSports) March 12, 2021
This is an unfortunate situation for both the team and the fans, but until the Coronavirus Pandemic is over there is little choice but to move forward with caution.
