Positive virus test ends Duke’s season
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Duke arrived at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament hoping to make an unprecedented run to extend its long NCAA tournament streak.
Instead, the Blue Devils abruptly had to pull out of the tournament and end their season due to a positive COVID-19 test and the resulting quarantining and contact tracing.
The Blue Devils’ quarterfinal against No. 15 Florida State was canceled. Athletic director Kevin White said Duke’s season is over, ending the Blue Devils’ streak of 24 consecutive NCAA appearances that began in 1996.
White said the positive test for someone within the program came after Wednesday’s win against Louisville, the Blue Devils’ second win in as many days in Greensboro. Before this, there had been no positive tests all season for a player or coach, he said.
“Since last March when the pandemic started, we have listened to our medical experts and always put safety at the forefront of any determinations regarding competition,” White said.
The Blue Devils (13-11, 9-9 ACC) failed to live up to their lofty standards, but coach Mike Krzyzewski said he loved this young team and was honored to coach it.
“We have not asked more of any team in our history, and they deserve enormous credit for handling everything like the outstanding young men they are,” Krzyzewski said in a statement. “I feel deeply for our players, who have done a terrific job all season in taking care of each other and the team.”
ACC quarterfinals Georgia Tech 70, Miami 66
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Jordan Usher scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half, including a game-clinching dunk created off a sterling play by Jose Alvarado, as Georgia Tech ended Miami’s run.
Miami’s Kameron McGusty hit a 3-pointer with 32 seconds left to get the Hurricanes (10-17) within two points. Following a Miami foul, Alvarado saved a poor inbounds pass in the backcourt as he flew out of bounds, passing it to teammate Bubba Parham. Parham returned the ball to Alvarado, who found Usher alone for the clinching dunk with 19 seconds left.
The Yellow Jackets (16-8), with seven straight wins, solidified their bid to reach the NCAA tournament for the first time in 11 years, They’ll take on top-seeded and No. 16-ranked Virginia tonight in a semifinal.
Big East quarterfinals Georgetown 72,
No. 14 Villanova 71
NEW YORK — The Hoyas are back in the Big East semifinals for the first time in six years, with former Georgetown and Knicks star Patrick Ewing, their coach, leading the way.
Dante Harris made two free throws with 4.7 seconds left to cap a perfect game from the line for Georgetown, and the eighthseeded Hoyas (11-12) earned a berth against fifth-seeded Seton Hall tonight. Georgetown last reached the Big East semifinals in 2015.
“We took another step — in my house, by the way. This is my house,” Ewing said.
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl led the Wildcats (16-6) with 26 points.
No. 17 Creighton 87, Butler 56
NEW YORK — With coach Greg McDermott back on the bench after a one-game suspension, Creighton cruised into the semifinals. The second-seeded Bluejays (19-7) advanced to face Connecticut or DePaul tonight. Creighton is in the semifinals for the first time since 2017.
Damien Jefferson scored 11 points in the first eight minutes and Marcus Zegarowski led the Bluejays with 18. Bryce Nze had 21 points to lead No. 10 seed Butler (10-15).
Big Ten tournament No. 9 Ohio State 79, Minnesota 75
INDIANAPOLIS — After scoring the first 13 points of the game and nearly blowing a 14-point lead in the final 3 ½ minutes, the Buckeyes (19-8) ended a fourgame slide and earned the right to face No. 21 Purdue in today’s quarterfinals.
Duane Washington Jr. and Justice Sueing each scored 16 points to lead the Buckeyes, E.J. Liddell sealed it with two late free throws and nifty ball-handling. Marcus Carr scored 24 for the Gophers (14-15).
Mountain West quarterfinals No. 19 San Diego State 69, Wyoming 66
LAS VEGAS — Terrell Gomez scored 20 points as San Diego State advanced to the Mountain West semifinals. The Cowboys had a chance to tie it at the buzzer, but Marcus Williams’ long 3-pointer missed badly.
Jordan Schakel and Trey Pulliam each scored 15 points for the Aztecs (21-4), who will play Boise State or Nevada today. Xavier DuSell led Wyoming (14-11) with 21 points.
Big 12 quarterfinals
No. 12 Oklahoma State 72, No. 10 West Virginia 69
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Avery Anderson III hit the go-ahead basket for Oklahoma State with less than a minute to go, and Sean McNeil’s tying 3-pointer came a split-second after the final buzzer, allowing the Cowboys to escape the Mountaineers in the Big 12 quarterfinals.
Anderson and Big 12 Player of the Year Cade Cunningham had 17 points apiece for the fifthseeded Cowboys (19-7), who have won seven of their past eight games — including two against the Mountaineers — with the only loss to No. 2 Baylor.
Isaac Likekele and Bryce Williams each added 10 points to help the Cowboys reach the semifinals, where they will face the top-seeded Bears.
No. 2 Baylor 74, Kansas State 68
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Big games from the backcourt of MaCio Teague (24 points), Davion Mitchell (23) and
Jared Butler (18), along with some crucial plays in the closing seconds, enabled the Bears (22-1) to avoid what would have been one of the biggest upsets in tournament history. Freshman Nijel Pack’s sixth 3-pointer got the Wildcats (9-20) within 70-66 with just more than a minute to go, but a batted pass for a turnover ended their hopes.
No. 11 Kansas 69, No. 25 Oklahoma 62
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Ochai Agbaji scored 29 points for the Jayhawks (20-8), who led 35-15 at halftime and survived a comeback by the Sooners (15-10).
Brady Manek had 19 points for Oklahoma.
The Jayhawks, who will meet Texas or Texas Tech tonight, were playing without post player David McCormack, a former Norfolk Academy standout who was ruled out for the tournament because of coronavirus protocols.
LATE WEDNESDAY
ACC, second round
UNC 101, Notre Dame 59
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Big men Armando Bacot and freshmen Day’Ron Sharpe and Walker Kessler each had a double-double as North Carolina dominated inside. No. 6 seed UNC (17-9) played third-seeded Virginia Tech in a quarterfinal late Thursday.
Bacot, a 6-foot-10 sophomore from Richmond, finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Kessler added 16 points and a season-best 12 rebounds, and Sharpe had 14 points, 10 boards and a careerhigh six assists. Kessler added eight blocks, the most by a UNC freshman in program history and an ACC tourney single-game record.
Sharpe made three baskets in a 49-second span to make it 9-5 and the Tar Heels led the rest of the way. They scored 22 straight points during a 52-4 second-half run.
Big 12, first round No. 25 Oklahoma 79, Iowa State 73
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After the Sooners’ 19-point lead almost melted away, Austin Reaves scored 11 of his 21 points in the closing minutes, allowing Oklahoma to hold on and reach a quarterfinal matchup with No. 11 Kansas, which the Sooners lost.
De’Vion Harmon added 18 points and Elijah Harkless had 12 for No. 7 seed Oklahoma, which had lost four straight and was on a shaky NCAA tournament bubble heading into the weekend.
The win over the Cyclones (2-22) likely made Oklahoma a lock for the field of 68. Iowa State had won four of the past six Big 12 tournaments, but this season ended with an 18th consecutive loss, putting coach Steve Prohm’s future in question.
Conference USA Second round
North Texas 76, Middle Tennessee 56
FRISCO, Texas — Javion Hamlet had 21 points and 11 assists as West Division No. 3 seed North Texas routed East Division sixth seed Middle Tennessee State in the Conference USA tournament. That gave the Mean Green a matchup late Thursday against East second-seeded Old Dominion.
Thomas Bell added 19 points and James Reese had 15 for North Texas (14-9).
Jordan Davis and Jalen Jordan scored 12 points apiece for MTSU (5-18), which advanced after Florida International forfeited a firstround matchup due to COVID protocols and contact tracing.
UTSA 72, Charlotte 62
FRISCO, Texas — Keaton Wallace’s 20 points sparked Texas-San Antonio (15-10) past the 49ers (9-16), moving the Roadrunners into a quarterfinal against East top seed Western Kentucky. Jordan Shepherd scored 20 for Charlotte.
Rice 72, Marshall 68
FRISCO, Texas — Quincy Olivari scored 23 points for the Owls, who are seeded sixth in the West Division, Marshall was third in the East. The Owls advanced to a late Thursday quarterfinal against UAB, the second seed in the west.
Max Fiedler had 15 points and nine rebounds for Rice (15-12). Cameron Sheffield added 10 points.
Jarrod West had 19 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Thundering Herd (15-7).
Florida Atlantic 76, UTEP 70
FRISCO, Texas — Karlis Silins had a career-high 22 points as Florida Atlantic topped Texas-El Paso.
FAU (13-9), the East Division’s No. 4 seed, advanced to play West top seed Louisiana Tech. Bryan Greenlee had 13 points for the Owls.
Souley Boum scored 23 points for the Miners (12-12).
Huge early matchups in South Hampton Roads, most notably the showdown between Lake Taylor and Maury, have headlined high school football action so far. But the Peninsula and Bay Rivers districts move to the forefront, at least for a week, as three longtime rivalries are played with district championship implications because this season will be so short.
Warhill faces Lafayette on Saturday at Wanner Stadium in a Williamsburg-area meeting between two Bay Rivers favorites. A win would keep Lafayette on track for an eighth unblemished district mark in the past nine seasons.
Because Warwick or Woodside don’t have Phoebus on their Peninsula District schedules in this shortened season, the winner faces an easier path than usual to a Peninsula District title — something Woodside has accomplished once and Warwick never. Their meeting at Todd Stadium on Tuesday — a belated season opener for both because they’ve been on COVID-19 quarantine — also should ultimately decide supremacy among Newport News’ five schools.
The biggie on the Peninsula this week is, of course, Hampton and Phoebus. Between them, the Hampton rivals have won 20 state championships in the past 45 years.
That kind of excellence earned Hampton-Phoebus recognition nationally a few years ago by the Great American Rivalry Series. Hampton leads the series 32-20, but Phoebus carries a three-game winning streak in the rivalry onto the Darling Stadium turf at noon on Saturday.
Predicting the 53rd meeting is difficult because Phoebus’ 35-0 win over Denbigh was its first game, while Hampton will be opening its season this week because its game with Warwick was postponed to March 23.
Larry Rubama’s prediction: Phoebus 27-23.
Marty O’Brien’s prediction: Phoebus 17-14.
TODAY
All games at 7 p.m. at the home school unless noted.
Top 15
No. 2 Lake Taylor (2-0) at Booker T. Washington (0-1)
Buzz: The Titans got revenge last week with a big Eastern District victory over Maury. But Lake Taylor coach Hank Sawyer isn’t resting easy, not when the defense must prepare for Bookers star running back Rodney Hammond. The Titans will counter with the trio of Mani Pahl, Tarreon Washington-Jacobs and Chuck Fisher.
Larry: Lake Taylor 33-13.
Marty: Lake Taylor 42-12.
No. 10 Princess Anne (1-1) at No. 4 Ocean Lakes (2-0)
Buzz:
The Cavaliers bounced back after losing to Salem in overtime in the season opener to score a school-record 70 points against First Colonial. QB Ryan High
is surrounded by great athletes Zaakir Brown, Michael Newell, D.J. James and Tychaun Chapman, who all scored two touchdowns apiece in the win. Last season, the Cavaliers beat Ocean Lakes to snap a 15-game losing streak – on the field as one win was a forfeit. The Dolphins are led by QBs Landon Spell and Josh Brown, and the defense features Pittsburgh signee Naquan Brown. Following their win last week against Landstown, Dolphins coach Joe Jones said, “If we can score 28 points a game, we have a pretty good chance to win the game with our defense.” Larry: Princess Anne 24-21. Marty: Ocean Lakes 21-20.
No. 12 Green Run (1-0) at No. 5 Salem (2-0)
Buzz:
Green Run opened with a 42-0 win over Kempsville. The Stallions will find out just how good they are against Salem’s stingy defense. Green Run is trying to go 2-0 for the first time since 2007, when the Stallions ironically were guided by current Salem coach Shawn Wilson. The SunDevils are coming off a win over Tallwood in which they outscored the Lions 14-0 in the fourth quarter.
Larry: Salem 26-20.
Marty: Salem 14-7.
Granby (0-1) vs.
No. 6 Maury (1-1)
Site: Powhatan Field
Buzz: Granby didn’t play last week after a member of the team tested positive for COVID-19, so the entire team was under quarantine until Monday. The Presidents lost 53-6 to Lake Taylor in the season opener. Now they have to face Maury — coming off its first district loss since Sept. 17, 2018. Larry: Maury 41-6.
Marty: Maury 52-6.
Great Bridge (1-0) vs. No. 7 Deep Creek (2-0)
Time: 6:15 p.m.
Site: Deep Creek Middle
Buzz: Deep Creek had a bye last week, while Great Bridge hasn’t played since Feb. 22 as two games were canceled after several players had to be quarantined. The Hornets don’t want to get caught looking ahead to next week’s big Southeastern District showdown against Oscar Smith. The Wildcats, who haven’t beaten Deep Creek since 2015, are trying to improve to 2-0 for the first time since 2010. Larry: Deep Creek 34-24.
Marty: Deep Creek 28-20.
Wilson (0-2) at
No. 11 Churchland (2-0)
Buzz:
Churchland survived a close game last week against Norcom with an 8-0 win in overtime — the Truckers’ second straight shutout. Wilson has been outscored 82-7 this season.
Larry: Churchland 37-13.
Marty: Churchland 45-0.
No. 14 Cox (2-0) at First Colonial (0-2)
Buzz: Cox QB Dylan Hauser has the Falcons on a roll. He has accounted for five touchdowns in victories over Kempsville and Bayside.
Larry: Cox 34-13.
Marty: Cox 42-7.
Western Branch (1-2) at No. 14 Grassfield (1-1)
Buzz: The Grizzlies are riding high following their upset of Indian River in two overtimes. They try to keep it rolling against the Bruins, who are playing their fourth game of the season.
Larry: Grassfield 20-14.
Marty: Grassfield 28-13.
Beach District
Kellam (0-1) vs. Bayside (1-1)
Site: Virginia Beach Sportsplex Buzz: The Marlins will play their home games at the Virginia
Beach Sportsplex as construction of the school’s new turf field is being completed. They beat First Colonial in their season opener, but lost to Cox last week. Kellam had a bye last week after losing to Ocean Lakes in the opener.
Larry: Kellam 23-20.
Marty: Bayside 20-19.
Landstown (1-1) at
Kempsville (0-2)
Buzz: The Eagles try to get back to their winning ways after losing to Ocean Lakes last week. Kempsville tries to score its first points of the season after being outscored 94-0 in the first two games, including 70-0 against Princess Anne last week.
Larry: Landstown 34-12.
Marty: Landstown 30-20.
Eastern District
Norcom (1-1) at Norview (0-1)
Buzz: The Greyhounds lost a heartbreaker to Churchland in overtime. The Pilots have given up only 13 points this season, and last week got head coach Ian Rapanick his first win with a 44-7 victory over Wilson. They were led by Ahmad Ashby (140 rushing yards, TD; 11 tackles), Taquan Trotman (109 yards, 2 TDs) and MarQeese Dietz (101 receiving yards, 3 TDs; 43 rushing yards, TD).
Larry: Norcom 16-13.
Marty: Norview 13-12.
Southeastern District Hickory (0-2) at
Indian River (0-2)
Time:
Buzz:
6:15 p.m.
The Hawks had their game against Great Bridge canceled after the Wildcats had several players who had to be quarantined. The Braves, who are young at several skilled positions, lost tough games to Deep Creek and Grassfield.
Larry: Indian River 37-20.
Marty: Indian River 38-13.
Lakeland (0-0) at Nansemond River (0-0) Time:
Buzz:
6 p.m.
Suffolk schools have chosen to play all regular-season games against each other this spring. Lakeland is looking to give second-year coach Joe Jones his first win as head coach. That will be tough as Nansemond River is loaded with QB Nolan James and WR Mar’keese Green on offense, and LB Kole Williams, DE Deshaun Alston and DL Payton Payne on defense.
Larry: Nansemond River 33-13. Marty: Nansemond River 33-13.
Bay Rivers District
Grafton (0-2) vs.
Jamestown (0-2)
Site: Wanner Stadium
Buzz: These programs are similar, playing harder and better under new coaches — Errold Cobbins is in his second year at Grafton and Thad Wheeler is in his first at Jamestown — so the winner will get a well-deserved reward for their efforts.
Larry: Jamestown 20-13.
Marty: Grafton 14-13.
Peninsula District
Denbigh (0-1) vs. Heritage (0-1) Site: Todd Stadium
Buzz: Heritage is rebuilding, but the play of freshman QB Derrick Gurley, sophomore defensive end Savion Frazier and freshman safety Charles Lyons in the 19-0 loss last week at Gloucester points toward better days ahead.
Larry: Denbigh 26-23.
Marty: Heritage 20-18.
How they fared
Marty O’Brien: 15-3 last week, 29-4 overall (87.8%)
Larry Rubama: 13-5 last week, 27-6 overall (81.8%)