Duke basketball’s season may be over after a positive test for Covid-19 within the program following the team’s win over Louisville in the 2021 ACC tournament on Wednesday night. The Blue Devils were supposed to play top-seeded Florida State on Thursday, but the game has been canceled after the positive test, according to veteran reporter Jeff Goodman. The report has been confirmed by multiple outlets.
Goodman added: “Looks like season is over for the Blue Devils.”
Duke won its first two games in the ACC tournament this year — it also beat Boston College — to play itself onto the bubble for the 2021 NCAA tournament. The game vs. Florida State felt like Duke’s chance to punch their ticket into the tournament, but that opportunity may now be gone. Our Bracketologist Chris Dobbertean moved Duke into the ‘first four out’ category following their win over Louisville. Duke had appeared in the NCAA tournament for 24 straight years.
It’s been a trying year for Duke from the start. The Blue Devils had multiple games canceled due to Covid and ended the regular season at 11-11 on the year. Duke also saw star freshman Jalen Johnson leave the team in the middle of the season.
Duke’s positive Covid test comes on the one-year anniversary of the sports world shutting down following Rudy Gobert’s positive test for the Utah Jazz.
CBS reporter Matt Norlander reported the positive test came from a player who did not play in the team’s win over Louisville on Wednesday. This is Duke’s first positive since the pandemic began:
This is the first positive COVID test among Duke’s Tier 1 personnel — players and coaches — since the pandemic began, source tells @CBSSports.
The timing is unreal.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 11, 2021
What’s amazing about this Duke news is that no school in the country has been more strict/rigid than Duke. Team wasn’t even staying in Greensboro. They were staying in the hotel on campus where they’ve been all year. Crazy and unfortunate.
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) March 11, 2021
Duke players react to canceled 2021 ACC tournament game
Freshman big man Mark Williams, who was the star of Duke’s win over Louisville on Wednesday, reacted to the news that Duke was out of the ACC tournament. So did fellow freshman Henry Coleman.
We’ll update this story as it develops.
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