Greensboro, NC (AP) – Duke arrives at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in hopes of scoring an unprecedented run to extend his long NCAA tournament streak.
Instead, the Blue Devils had to abruptly withdraw from the tournament and end their season due to a positive COVID-19 test and the resulting quarantine and contact.
The ACC announced that the Blue Devils’ quarter-final game against Florida State No. 15 for Thursday night has been canceled. And Kevin White, director of athletics, said Duke’s season was over, ending the NCAA’s 24 consecutive Blue Devils series, which began in 1996.
In a statement, White said the positive test for someone inside the program came after Wednesday’s win over Lewisville, the Blue Devils’ second win in several days in Greenbus. Prior to this, there were no positive tests for the player or coach throughout the season, he said.
“Since the epidemic began last March, we have listened to our medical experts and safety has always been at the forefront of any decision regarding the competition,” White said. “As a result, this will be the end of our 2020-21 season. We want each team to still have the college basketball good health and play very well over the next few weeks.”
The Blue Devils (13-11, 9-9 ACC) failed to live up to their high standards, but coach Mike Krzyzuski said he loved the young team and was honored by their coaches.
“We haven’t asked any more teams in our history, and they deserve enormous credit for handling everything like the rest of the youngsters,” Krzyzuski said in a statement. “I feel deeply touched by our players who have done tremendous work throughout the season taking care of each other and the team.
“I am very proud of their collective attitude and efforts, which would not have been stronger.”
With Duke withdrawing, the Seminoles advanced to the semifinals of the ACC tournament to play the North Carolina-Virginia Tech winner.
“I think preparing for the unexpected is what we’re trying to do all year,” said FSU coach Leonard Hamilton. “It is unfortunate that we will not be able to play this game today. But we have to deal with it in a mature way and just be happy that no one is at risk. “
In addition, Louisville released a statement Thursday saying Duke’s tests came in negative after the game and no concerns were expected with contact tracing.
“Our group is tested every day and on the way to constantly doing negative tests to be able to participate in the NCAA tournament,” the school said.
With Duke’s season coming to an end, this will mark the first time since 1976 that the Blue Devils and other basketballs will not come to the Blue Blood – Kentucky – NCAA. Wildcats lost The opener of their Southeastern Conference tournament on Thursday, ensured the season’s first losing season since 1988-89 for Mississippi State.
Duke did not lose the NCAA Tournament after the 1994-95 season, when Krzyzewski withdrew from coaching after back surgery complications. Assistant Pete Goudett took over, with whom the team was 13-18 a year after playing in the Duke NCAA title game.
Prior to that, Krzyzuski had only lost the tournament at Duke in his first three seasons, when he went joint 38-47 and faced increasing pressure to turn things around as triangle neighbors North Carolina (1982) and North Carolina State (1983) both won. Was. NCAA Championships.
The first tournament bid was made in 1984 and Duke won 37 years before reaching the NCAA final two years later. He was the first in nine notable races to reach seven final fours in nine years, including the 1991 and 1992 championships. Krzyzewski’s teams went on to win three more titles in 2001, 2010 and 2015.
This year has opened with some similar expectations despite having a young roster, despite not having the same NBA-ready talent in recent years with names like Zion Williamson and Jason Tatum.
The Blue Devils are ranked 9th in the AP Top 25, but have been unranked for the first time in almost five years in mid-January. They didn’t have the usual edge of the homecourt at the fan-less Cameron Indoor Stadium and saw top newcomer Jalen Johnson say goodbye to the team. For the preparation of the NBA draft in February.
After a fair amount of damage In rival North Carolina, the Blue Devils knew they needed to win the ACC tournament to extend the NCAA’s streak, even though no team in the tournament has won five matches in five days. They beat Louisville in the quarterfinals on Wednesday after losing both regular-season seats after opening with a slippery win against the Boston C-League.
All in all, Krzyzuski said he focused more on the development of the youth group than on past successes.
“This will pay off at the moment if you stay with him,” Krzyzewski said after losing to Notre Dame in February. “It happened in ’82 and 8383, it did in ’95-66, and it did in 2006 There comes a time in our program where you learned to appreciate a win that has come to such a high level and how hard it is to lose. .
“And we must continue to learn it as a program and appreciate what it takes to win. You don’t do it by working hard or trying to get better. And that’s what we’ll do. “
___
More A.P. For college college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/ college basketball and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25
.
