Kansas, Virginia knocked out by virus outbreaks
Two of college basketball’s marquee teams, 11thranked Kansas and No. 16 Virginia, withdrew from their conference tournaments Friday because of coronavirus cases, imperiling their prospects to contend for a national championship in a season defined — and routinely complicated — by the pandemic.
The hasty exits, one day after Duke and North Carolina A&T pulled out of conference tournaments before of positive tests, deepened the sense that the sport’s greatest disruptions this March will arise not from thrilling upsets on the court during the NCAA Tournament but from coronavirus testing and contact tracing.
“We went from an exhilarating, gamewinning shot to beat Syracuse to a gut punch,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said.
Carla Williams, Virginia’s athletic director, said the university was “in communication with the appropriate officials regarding our participation” in the national tournament. And Bill Self, the Kansas coach, said after his Jayhawks were forced to pull out of the Big 12 competition that he looked “forward to preparing my team in probably a unique way” for the national tournament.
Syracuse athletic director John Wildhack says all members of the men’s basketball program who traveled to the ACC tournament tested negative following Thursday’s loss to topseeded Virginia.
A crucial deadline for Kansas and Virginia will come Saturday night, when teams up for atlarge bids must notify the NCAA if they will “be unable to meet the medical protocols and participate” in their first games.
After the bracket is released Sunday evening, a different part of the tournament’s team replacement policy will take effect. If a conference has secured just one slot in the tournament, it may replace a compromised team with another, if it can clear the NCAA’s testing protocol.
In conference tournament games played Friday:
ACC: Virginia’s coronavirus situation allowed Georgia Tech to advance to the ACC’s tournament final in Greensboro, N.C., where they will play No. 15 Florida State (16-5), a 69-66 winner over North Carolina (18-10). Anthony Polite hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:06 left.
American Athletic: DeJon Jarreau had his first tripledouble with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, helping No. 7 Houston to a 77-52 victory over Tulane in a quarterfinal in Fort Worth, Texas.
Big East: Jamorko Pickett scored 19, Chudier Bile made big plays on both ends down the stretch and Georgetown (12-12) reached its first conference final in 11 years with a 66-58 victory over Seton Hall (14-13) in New York. The Hoyas will face No. 17 Creighton (20-7), which held Connecticut (15-7) without a field goal over the final six minutes and beat the Huskies 59-56.
Big Ten: Michigan coach Juwan Howard was ejected midway through the second half after getting into a shouting match with the Maryland bench, and the fourth-ranked Wolverines earned a 79-66 win over the Terrapins in the Big Ten quarterfinals in Indianapolis. Mike Smith scored 18 points and set a Big Ten Tournament record with 15 assists for top-seeded Michigan (20-3). The Wolverines rallied from a 12-point first-half deficit . ... Ayo Dosunmu scored 23 and No. 3 Illinois (21-6) easily took a 90-68 decision over Rutgers (15-11). Ron Harper Jr. scored 21 points for the Scarlet Knights (15-11) . ... Seth Towns scored six of his 12 in overtime to lift No. 9 Ohio State (20-8) to an 87-78 win over No. 21 Purdue (18-9). Luka Garza scored 24, Joe Wieskamp made two key baskets late and No. 5 Iowa (21-7) earned a 62-57 win over Wisconsin (17-12).
Big 12: Kansas’ exit put No. 13 Texas, which has never won the tournament, in the title game in Kansas City. No. 12 Oklahoma State (20-7) got there the hard way with an 83-74 win over second-ranked Baylor (22-2) behind 25 points from Cade Cunningham. MaCio Teague scored 17 points and Jared Butler had 16 for the top-seeded Bears, who had won 10 of their last 11 against the Cowboys after sweeping them in the regular season.
SEC: Jahvon Quinerly scored 14 to lead No. 6 Alabama (22-6) to an 85-48 win over Mississippi State 85-48 in Nashville. Playing as the tournament’s top seed for the first time since 2002, the Crimson Tide followed a couple of small early runs before going on a 17-0 surge over five minutes for a 43-13 cushion just before halftime. The Crimson Tide will play Tennessee in a semifinal; the Volunteers had five scorers in double figures and beat Florida 78-66 . ... No. 8 Arkansas overcame a 10-point deficit to reach the semifinals with a 70-64 triumph over Missouri. Reserve JD Notae scored 27 for the Razorbacks, who will face Mississippi or LSU.
Mountain West: Matt Mitchell had 24 points and eight rebounds to lead No. 19 San Diego State (22-4) past Nevada (16-10) in a semifinal in Las Vegas. The Aztecs will play either Utah State or Colorado State.
Women
#6 Baylor 92, TCU 55: Ina Big 12 tournament quarterfinal in Kansas City, NaLyssa Smith scored 26 for the Bears (23-2) against the Horned Frogs. Baylor will face Texas, an 84-82 winner over Iowa State, in a semifinal Saturday.
#8 Maryland 85, Northwestern 52: In a Big Ten tournament semifinal in Indianapolis, Alaysia Styles scored 15 to lead six Terrapins in double figures as Maryland (23-2) beat the Wildcats (15-8). Maryland will play Iowa, an 87-72 winner over Michigan State, for the title Saturday.
Idaho State 84, Idaho 49: In Pocatello, Idaho, Estefania Ors scored 21 as the Bengals (22-3) beat the Vandals (17-7) in the Big Sky tournament final to earn the fifth NCAA tournament berth in school history.
Stony Brook 64, Maine 60: Anastasia Warren scored 31 to lead the Seawolves (15-5) past the Black Bears (17-3) in the America East tournament final in Orono, Maine. Stony Brook’s NCAA tournament appearance will be its first.