It was only a matter of time before COVID-19 would appear at the NCAA tournament and it did on Saturday night.
The NCAA announced on Saturday that the scheduled first-round game between Oregon and VCU was declared a no-contest because of COVID-19 protocols. Oregon will advance to the second round.
The NCAA said that they could not disclose more information due to privacy rules.
According to CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander, VCU is dealing with three positive cases on the team. They had their first positive test on Wednesday, and then two more on Friday.
The NCAA said the decision to postpone the game was made “in consultation with the Marion County Public Health Department.”
This marks the first NCAA tournament game canceled or declared a no-contest due to COVID-19 issues. The NCAA made Tuesday night its deadline for replacement teams to enter the field; no teams had issues at that time.
Oregon players haven’t been in contact with the VCU players before the scheduled game, so they will move onto the second round of the NCAA Tournament without even busting out a sweat.