COVID-19 disrupts NCAA Tournament. Again

The NCAA men’s tournament lost its first game to the COVID-19 pandemic on Saturday night.

The NCAA ruled that No. 7 Oregon’s first-round matchup with No. 10 VCU will be considered a no contest due to “COVID-19 protocols” within the Rams’ program. The announcement came just hours before the game was set to tip at Indiana Farmers Coliseum.

The decision means that Oregon will advance to the second round of the tournament.

“The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee has declared the VCU-Oregon game scheduled for Saturday night at Indiana Farmers Coliseum a no contest because of COVID-19 protocols,” the NCAA said in a statement. “This decision was made in consultation with the Marion County Public Health Department. As a result, Oregon will advance to the next round of the tournament. The NCAA and the committee regret that VCU’s student-athletes and coaching staff will not be able to play in a tournament in which they earned the right to participate. Because of privacy issues we cannot provide further details.”

The NCAA did not elaborate on VCU’s coronavirus issues. NCAA rules for the tournament require that teams have at least five eligible players able to participate in order for a game to move forward.

Rhoades said they have been tested every day for the coronavirus over the past three weeks as a team, but that they “received multiple positive tests” within the last 48 hours. CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander reported that the program’s first positive test appeared on Wednesday, and was followed by more on Friday and Saturday.

VCU has been in Indianapolis since Sunday night.