The University of Virginia men’s basketball team is out of the ACC Tournament but not because they lost. On Friday, the Cavaliers announced they have pulled out of the tournament due to a person in the program testing positive for COVID-19. They were scheduled to play Georgia Tech in the semifinals on Friday evening.
“We went from an exhilarating game-winning shot to beat Syracuse to a gut punch regarding the positive COVID-19 test within our program, Virginia head coach Tony Bennett said in a statement. “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.”
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Virginia is the second team in as many days to withdraw from the ACC Tournament due to COVID-19 issues after Duke left on Thursday morning. “This is incredibly disappointing for our players,” Virginia director of athletics Carla Williams said in a statement.” 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.”
The next question is what’s the next step for Virginia who entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed? The Cavaliers can play in the NCAA Tournament if they don’t have an outbreak and have five healthy players to play. Virginia will also need to show seven consecutive negative tests daily bore arriving in Indianapolis and then undergo daily testing while inside the “bubble.”
“I’m heartbroken for our student-athletes, coaches and support staff at both Duke and Virginia,” ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said in a statement per ESPN. “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.”
Virginia is projected to the No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament after being named ACC regular-season champions. The Cavaliers are the reigning NCAA Champions after winning the tournament in 2019 and the event was canceled in 2020.
