Bennett: Most of Virginia roster in quarantine
With most of Virginia’s roster in quarantine due to COVID-19 contact tracing, the Cavaliers won’t travel to Indianapolis for the NCAA…
Virginia won’t travel to Indianapolis for the men’s NCAA basketball tournament until Friday, with most of the Cavaliers’ roster remaining in quarantine until Thursday, coach Tony Bennett said Sunday.
The Cavaliers had to withdraw from the ACC tournament this past Friday after a positive COVID-19 test. Bennett said the majority of the team is in quarantine as a result of contact tracing.
“We’re going to keep testing daily. Our medical people, who are outstanding, are working with the NCAA to follow every protocol, and that’s why our name was called,” Bennett said. “The timing is never a good time to have it, and this is not ideal, but if you’re going to have it, we took it to about the last day you could have a positive case.”
Virginia earned a 4-seed in the NCAA tournament and is matched up with 13-seed Ohio.
The player who tested positive won’t be able to play against the Bobcats or in the second round of the NCAA tournament, should Virginia beat Ohio.
The Cavaliers had until Saturday night to notify the NCAA if they weren’t able to play in the NCAA tournament, while there’s a Tuesday night deadline for the NCAA to introduce a replacement team should the Cavaliers not be able to play in the first round.
NCAA protocols state that a player needs to show seven consecutive negative tests before traveling to Indianapolis for the NCAA tournament, before undergoing daily testing while inside the controlled environment there. Dan Gavitt, NCAA senior vice president of men’s basketball, has said that a team needs just five healthy players to play in an NCAA tournament game.
Bennett said the Cavaliers weren’t able to watch the selection show together as a team, but met on a video call to celebrate and talk briefly.
“This is the first time I was not able to be with my team and watch the selection show. That’s kind of a cool thing you do,” he said. “On Zoom, we got together and I congratulated them and talked a little bit about our opponent and just kind of went from there. That was strange.”
The Cavaliers won’t be able to practice as a team until Thursday, although individual players not in quarantine will be able to work out and do some shooting. Before playing in the first round, Virginia will have to show two negative tests, 12 hours apart.
“It could be a situation where we practice here and you just show up at the game and play,” Bennett said. “That stuff I don’t know all the details yet. We’ll get into that. It’s unique prep, but we’ve got the chance.”
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