Georgia Tech has survived and advanced to the ACC Championship. Well, kinda.
As quickly as the light at the end of the tunnel began to appear it quickly faded to black. Not for Tech, but for Duke. Then for Virginia. Two blue bloods who’s season came to an abrupt end.
For Duke they were likely going to have to win the ACC Tournament to make it to the NCAA Tournament, but with a recent COVID diagnosis from within their program shut them down in the ACC Tournament and for all intents and purposes, shut down their season.
In just a simple tweet by Duke’s basketball team via social media, they expressed how they truly felt — heartbroken.
💔
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 11, 2021
Then a statement from Coach K.
Coach K: "We have not asked more of any team in our history, and they deserve enormous credit for handling everything like the outstanding young men that they are." pic.twitter.com/R69HIUyQuI
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 11, 2021
Bad news for Virginia
On Friday, Tech was scheduled to face Virginia with the winner advancing to the championship game to play Florida State. However, after a positive COVID case within the UVA men’s basketball program, they have also had to withdraw from the ACC Tournament.
Cavs’ head coach Tony Bennett released this statement:
“I’m hurting for our players, especially our seniors. I told our young men they have every reason to be disappointed, but it is still very important how they choose to respond. We are exhausting all options to participate in the NCAA Tournament.”
It sucks, for both Duke and UVA, but unfortunately this is going to be a risk-reward, dog eat dog scenario. It’s not a given that your respective team will test negative, even inside a bubble. Duke was the only ACC team to not stay within the bubble. Many blamed Duke for the latest COVID outbreak inside the ACC walls. But we won’t do that, not here.
If you’re into betting and history, Tech is 30-44 all time vs Florida St. And while that’s only a .405 winning percentage, the reality is this Jackets team is only one win away from winning their 5th ACC Championship Tournament.
The Championship will be played on Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. Selection Sunday, which will most definitely have Georgia Tech seeded high, will be the Sunday night. The show will begin at 6 p.m. ET on CBS. The entire 2021 men’s basketball championship will be played in Indiana, with the majority of the tournament’s 67 games taking place in Indianapolis.
