Virginia is now officially out of the ACC Tournament, and it's not because of their opponent in the semifinals, Georgia Tech. The ACC announced Friday morning that the game has been canceled following a positive COVID-19 test for Virginia. As a result, the Cavaliers are eliminated from of the ACC Tournament. They follow in the footsteps of Duke as the second team to get knocked out of the tournament due to a positive COVID-19 test.
𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲:
The @GTMBB vs. @UVAMensHoops semifinal game has been canceled.@FSUHoops vs. @UNC_Basketball will now tip at 8:30 pm on ESPN.https://t.co/vOfoTaH7kJ
— ACC Men's Basketball (@accmbb) March 12, 2021
Georgia Tech automatically advances to the ACC Championship Game. The Yellow Jackets will await the winner of the semifinal game between Florida State and North Carolina.
Whoa. ACC just announced another COVID casualty, this time Virginia. Georgia Tech moves into ACC championship game Saturday vs winner of UNC-FSU. Carolina will now tip at 8:30 p.m. tonight
— C.L. Brown (@clbrownhoops) March 12, 2021
It's unclear who on Virginia tested positive for COVID.
Nevertheless, this must definitely be a bummer for the team, especially after their thrilling win over eighth-seeded Syracuse that ended on a buzzer-beater. The Cavaliers finished with a 13-4 mark in their conference and hold an 18-6 overall record.
Virginia has earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament, but that is obviously still up in the air with their current situation. The Cavaliers certainly want a shot to get back to the top after they won the national title in 2019. They are technically still the defending champions since the 2020 tourney was canceled due to the pandemic.
Duke was supposed to play Florida State in the quarterfinals, but they saw their season come to a close following the positive COVID-19 test. The Blue Devils ended a streak of 24 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances thanks to this unique season.