Anyone who has paid attention to the NCAA tournament for years already understands that there is no guarantee.
Ask No. 2 seed Ohio State, which bounced from the tournament on Friday in the first round. The No. 15 seeded Oral Roberts team did not win an NCAA tournament game as Richard Nixon took over at the Oval Office (1974).
Ask No. 4 seed Purdue with great anticipation, but the team from North Texas had never won an NCAA tournament game late Friday night.
Ask No. 4 seed Virginia, defending national champion D (it won it all in 2019 and last year’s tournament was canceled because of COVID-19), seeded 13th in Saturday night in the first round Lost to Ohio University.
There is no guarantee in NCAAs.
Virginia Commonwealth University’s 13 players and their coaching staff, all of whom were drafted into the Indianapolis bubble to save the NCAA March Madern from the furious Coronovirus, felt they were guaranteed the first round on Saturday night at 9:57 p.m. Game against Oregon.
And then they were not.
VCU’s NCAA tournament was over before thanks to what the school reported as a “multiple” COVID-19 positive test in the last 48 hours.
Who were reported to the NCAA and together with field medical professionals ruled that VCU could not take the court for its first-round game and Oregon for a second-round game in a “no-contest” Will move on. Iowa.
So, the worst nightmare of the NCAA tournament, COVID-19 became a dysfunctional 65th team in March Madness, knocking VCU out of the tournament and devastating those 13 players and their coaches.
The NBA, NHL and MLS created bubbles last year and made it without major events.
COVID-19 pasted a sharp pin into the NCAA tournament bubble and reminded everyone that there is no guarantee how strong or careful you think your bubble is.
At approximately 6:20 a.m. Saturday, VCU athletic director Ed McLaughlin received notification from the NCAA of the decision. McLaughlin quickly informed coach Mike Rods, who gathered his players together in a hallway on the 16th floor of the JW Marriott in Indianapolis and told them the news.
There was no violation of the McLaughlin COVID-19 protocol, stating that, “It certainly was not a bad attitude in our favor.” It is cruel, it is the only way I can describe it. “
Rowheads called it “devastating” and “heartbreaking” and said that “there are no dry eyes.”
“This is what you see as a player and college coach,” he said.
Among VCU players who are starting or playing crucial minutes, two of them – Levi Stockland III and Corey Douglas – are seniors and will never get that chance again.
Even for underclassmen, such as lead scorer Nah’Shawn Highland, there is no guarantee that they will return to the Big Dance again.
Hopefully, Highland will find its way to March Madness, as they have a personal score to settle. He revealed on Twitter that his house caught fire three years ago after watching the NCAA tournament and lost two family members.
It was Highland’s tweet: “3 years ago I was watching March Madness in my room when a fire broke out in my house .. and I lost two members of my family .. broke my soul into pieces, But I’m still standing like a soldier and marching madness is here now. And best of all believe I’m going out with a bang !! ‘
Sadly, not this year. Hope ahead
“We haven’t closed all year because of COVID,” McLaughlin told Jeff Goodman from @Stadio. “It is cruel for children and coaches. Heartbreaker. “”
Oregon coach Dana Altman took no delight in the “no-contest” decision that allowed his team a free pass in the second round.
“We hate to end a team season in a way that these student-athletes have done after all the hard work,” Altman said in a statement. “This is not the way we wanted to move forward.”
Some teams enter the NCAA tournament, ensuring that everyone has to win. Others are eager to step on the stage because they dream that they are children, kicking elbows and walking on their knees in the streets and school yard.
But the common thread that weaves through both blue blood and wide eyes is that the NCAA tournament is the time of his life. We see it every March, and that is the beauty of the tournament that lasts forever.
For those 13 VCU players and their coaches, they did not experience that beauty this March.
Another example – not a basketball lesson – is that there is no guarantee in the NCAA tournament.
Or in life.
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