Positive COVID-19 tests derail Kansas, Virginia tourney runs
A year to the day after COVID-19 brought the college basketball postseason to a halt, the pandemic continues to disrupt the sport, with three premier programs forced to abandon their conference tournaments because of positive coronavirus tests.
No. 16 Virginia — the most recent national champion — and No. 11 Kansas were forced out of the semifinals of their tournaments on Friday, a day after Duke also dropped out, ending a disappointing season for coach Mike Krzyzewski’s storied program.
There’s no guarantee that Kansas or Virginia will be back for the NCAA Tournament, potentially depriving the sport’s annual showcase of two title contenders as well as the five-time national champion Blue Devils, who were unlikely to make this year’s field.
Although the Atlantic Coast Conference and Big 12 tournaments continued without the virus-affected schools, Friday’s developments were an eerie reminder of March 12, 2020, when both leagues ended their tournaments as teams were warming up for the first of a full day’s worth of games. That day turned out to be the end of the college basketball season.
The ACC announced the positive test and subsequent contact tracing and quarantining in Virginia’s program less than 12 hours before the
Cavaliers were set to play Georgia Tech in the first of two semifinal games. The Yellow Jackets advanced to the finals, where they will face Florida State.
Hours later, Kansas announced its withdrawal from the Big 12 tournament, leading to the cancellation of its semifinal matchup with No. 13 Texas. The Longhorns will play No. 12 Oklahoma State for the title after the Sooners upset No. 2 Baylor in their semifinal. The Jayhawks said in a statement they would continue preparing for the NCAA Tournament, which starts Thursday.
Cavaliers coach Tony Bennett described the outcome of the tests as a “gut punch.”
“I’m hurting for our players, especially our seniors,” Bennett said in a statement. “I told our young men they have every reason to be disappointed, but it is still very important how they choose to respond. We are exhausting all options to participate in the NCAA Tournament.”
Virginia athletic director Carla Williams said in the statement the school was “in communication with the appropriate officials regarding our participation” in the NCAA Tournament.
Rado Parapunov had 16 kills and eight digs to lead the top-ranked University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team to a 25-18, 25-21, 25-20 victory over UC Santa Barbara on Friday in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Freshman outside hitter Chaz Galloway had eight kills in eight attempts and Patrick Gasman posted eight kills in nine attempts, hitting .889, as the Rainbow Warriors improved to 6-0 overall, 2-0 in
Big West Conference play. King Kekaulike High School graduate Colton Cowell added seven kills, hitting .174, with three digs, an ace and a block.
Unlike the teams’ first match Thursday — when UH started slow and dropped the first set before rallying for a four-set victory — the Rainbow Warriors jumped out to a 4-1 lead and never trailed in running away with the opening-set win.
A 7-3 run midway through the second set — capped by a block by Gasman and Jakob Thelle — gave UH an 18-13 lead, and the Rainbow Warriors held on after the Gauchos closed within 22-20 but committed a pair of costly errors.
In the third, UH trailed 6-4 before going on a 10-3 run to take a 14-9 lead. UC Santa Barbara wouldn’t go down so easily, however, climbing back within 16-15 on a block of Parapunov. But the Rainbow Warriors slowly pulled away again, and Parapunov ended it with his final kill.
Randy DeWeese led the Gauchos (4-2) with 11 kills.
The teams wrap up their series today, though the match will not count in the conference standings.