ACC flips, to allow some fans
South Carolina hit with probation
The easing of public-gathering restrictions in North Carolina has opened the door for a limited number of fans to attend the Atlantic Coast Conference men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.
The league announced its decision Thursday, a day after Gov. Roy Cooper eased restrictions to allow attendance of up to 15% at indoor arenas seating more than 5,000 and 30% at outdoor venues.
The ACC had previously said it wouldn’t have public tickets available for either tournament taking place in Greensboro. The league is finalizing plans for how the ticket availability will work.
South Carolina
The men’s program was placed on probation for two years by the NCAA for former assistant coach Lamont Evans accepting between $3,300 and $5,800 in bribes from a sports agent. The NCAA’s decision put an end to South Carolina’s role in the college basketball corruption case that began in 2017. The Gamecocks largely avoided more serious penalties like a postseason ban for what the NCAA deemed a Level I infractions case. South Carolina coach Frank Martin was not named in any NCAA allegations.
Michigan
The No. 3-ranked host Wolverines ( 17- 1, 12- 1) passed yet another test against a highly ranked opponent with a 79-57 win against No. 9 Iowa. They also look increasingly alone atop the Big Ten, where every other team has at least four conference losses. National player of the year candidate Luke Garza led the Hawkeyes (17-7, 11-6) with 16 points, but he shot 6 of 19 from the field. Sophomore wing Franz Wagner led Michigan with 21 points.
Connecticut
Nika Muhl scored 15 of her season-high 19 points in the first quarter and the topranked Huskies (19-1, 16-0) won the outright Big East regular-season championship with an 81-49 victory against host Creighton (7-10, 6-7).