North Carolina A&T withdraws from MEAC tournament after positive COVID-19 test
North Carolina A&T, the top seed in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, withdrew from its conference tournament on Thursday after a positive COVID-19 test within the program, the conference announced.
The Aggies were set to play their first conference tournament game on Friday, after earning a bye to the semifinals.
“Obviously we are tremendously disappointed for the student-athletes, coaches, staff and fans for North Carolina A&T State,” MEAC Commissioner Dennis E. Thomas said in a statement. “They worked extremely hard to get to where they are and to have to end [the season] this way is extremely unfortunate. But that’s the world we live in today and hopefully, we will have no other positives moving forward for the basketball tournament.”
North Carolina A&T finished the season with an 11-10 overall record, but went 7-1 in conference play. They were going to play the winner of the Norfolk State-North Carolina Central on Friday in the semifinals. Whoever wins that quarterfinal matchup will now advance straight to the MEAC championship game.
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— NC A&T Men’s Basketball (@ncatmbb) March 12, 2021
Duke withdraws from ACC tournament
North Carolina A&T is the second program forced to withdraw from a conference tournament due to a positive coronavirus test on Thursday.
Duke had to pull out of the ACC tournament after a positive test within the Blue Devils’ program.
Duke beat Louisville in the ACC tournament’s second round on Wednesday night, and likely needed another win Thursday — they were set to take on second-seeded Florida State — in order to sneak into the NCAA tournament.
Athletic director Kevin White, however, said that the positive test “will end our 2020-21 season,” meaning Duke will miss the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1995.
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