All-american teams announced
COVID affects NCAA Tournament referees
Gonzaga and Baylor spent almost the entire season holding down the top two spots in the Top 25.
Makes sense they’d hold down a bunch of spots on The Associated Press All-america teams.
The Bulldogs’ Corey Kispert and the Bears’ Jared Butler led the way with first-team nods Tuesday from the national panel of 63 media members that vote each week in the AP Top 25 poll. They were joined by unanimous pick Luka Garza of Iowa, a two-time selection, along with Ayo Dosunmu of Illinois and Cade Cunningham of Oklahoma State.
The Bulldogs also landed big man Drew Timme and freshman sensation Jalen Suggs on the second team while Joel Ayayi was an honorable mention pick. The Bears had Davion Mitchell on the third team and MaCio Teague as an honorable mention.
While the first team was full of upperclassmen, the second team belonged to college basketball’s youth.
There was Suggs and Timme and three post players: Kofi Cockburn of Illinois, Hunter Dickinson of Michigan and Evan Mobley of USC.
Baylor’s Mitchell was joined on the third team by Quentin Grimes, the high-scoring guard from Houston; Herb Jones of Alabama; Cameron Krutwig of mid-major darling Loyola Chicago; and Chris Duarte of Oregon.
■ A referee tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him and five others who went out to dinner with him, out of the tournament.
Their excursion ran counter to a protocol that called on all players and staff to eat at their NCAA hotels, but because the refs’ rooms weren’t ready and there was no food available, they were given a pass.
It resulted in a big shake-up of the officiating corps for the games, 52 of which take place Thursday through next Monday at different arenas in Indianapolis, Bloomington and Purdue. Though the NCAA brought plenty of backup referees, the mass departure served up yet another illustration of how things can go wrong.
■ Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner announced a member of his school’s traveling party tested positive. He did not disclose whether it was a player, but noted the person will not be back unless the Yellow Jackets advance to the Sweet 16.
“It’s a gut punch,” Pastner said. “It stinks.”
NCAA vice president Dan Gavitt said said there were five positive tests out of 2,300 that had been analyzed so far in Indianapolis, but that those five did not necessarily involve team personnel, and could also have included staff with access to arenas.
Overall, Gavitt painted an optimistic picture, saying better weather in Indianapolis on Tuesday (fog, rain and hail greeted many of the arriving teams Monday) made it possible for teams to “extend” their quarantine beyond the hotels into some approved outdoor areas.