Saturday’s first-round game between No.7 Oregon and No. 10 VCU has been declared a no-contest because of COVID-19 protocols within VCU’s program, the NCAA announced.
Oregon automatically advances to the second round.
“The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee has declared the VCU-Oregon game scheduled for Saturday night at Indiana Farmers Coliseum a no-contest because of COVID-19 protocols,” the NCAA’s statement read. “This decision was made in consultation with the Marion County Public Health Department.
“As a result, Oregon will advance to the next round of the tournament. The NCAA and the committee regret that VCU’s student-athletes and coaching staff will not be able to play in a tournament in which they earned the right to participate. Because of privacy issues we cannot provide further details.”
This is the first NCAA tournament game canceled or declared a no-contest due to COVID-19 issues. The NCAA made Tuesday night its deadline for replacement teams to enter the field; no teams had issues at that time.
In order to get into the NCAA tournament’s controlled environment in Indianapolis, teams had to show seven consecutive days of negative COVID-19 tests. Once in Indianapolis, teams undergo daily testing.
NCAA senior VP of basketball Dan Gavitt said prior to the NCAA tournament that a team can continue playing in the tournament as long as it has five “eligible and healthy” players. The NCAA tournament’s contact tracing and other COVID-19 protocols were expected to prevent a team needing to withdraw due to one or two positive tests.
“This is tremendously disappointing and heartbreaking for the student-athletes who’ve worked so hard for this opportunity,” Atlantic 10 commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade said in a statement. “During this pandemic, the medical advisory boards have the authority to make this decision for the safety and welfare all of the student-athletes, staff and teams.
“VCU has had an outstanding year, and this setback does not diminish any of their accomplishments.”
Oregon will play the winner of No. 2 Iowa vs. No. 15 Grand Canyon.
