Breaking news in college basketball as Duke will not take the court in Greensboro, N.C., on Thursday for the ACC Tournament quarterfinals against Florida State due to a reported positive COVID-19 test on the Blue Devils – not clear yet if it's a player or coach. At 13-11 overall, that means the season is likely over for Duke and it will miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995. Florida State, the second seed in this tournament and No. 15 team in the nation, will get a bye to the semifinals and face either Virginia Tech or North Carolina on Friday.
It's reportedly the first Tier 1 personnel -- coach, player or staff -- within the Duke program to test positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began. The positive test and contract tracing would have made multiple Blue Devils players unavailable. The ACC is still examining whether there were any contact tracing issues that could affect other teams.
Coach Mike Krzyzewski's team beat Boston College on Tuesday and Louisville on Wednesday in the ACC Tournament to at least get into the conversation of the Big Dance bubble – although CBS Sports' Jerry Palm didn't have Duke even among his "first 4 out" yet. A win over the Seminoles might have changed that and FSU was a 4-point favorite at William Hill Sportsbook. Duke had won five straight in the series, however.
The Blue Devils are an ACC-best 105-45 in the ACC Tournament all-time with a league record 21-titles -- eight of those championships came at Greensboro Coliseum, where Duke is 41-18 in this tournament and 30-10 under Coach K.
Per a William Hill spokesperson regarding previous wagers on Duke to win the ACC Tournament or NCAA Tournament: "ACC Tournament odds are now off the board. This morning, Duke was +550 (to win ACC tourney) and Florida State was +200. Final decision regarding Duke futures is still pending, but all other markets remain action."
On Tuesday, Duke announced it had paused spring football activities indefinitely after identifying a cluster of 10 positive COVID-19 cases within the team. The basketball team was not staying in Greensboro but traveling by bus back and forth from its Durham campus – about 45 minutes away – each day. Perhaps that was a mistake.
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