The scheduled game on Saturday night between No. 7 seed Oregon and No. 10 seed VCU in the first round of the 2021 NCAA tournament has been declared a non-match with the Ducks advancing to the second round due to COVID-19 issues within the VCU program. It is the tournament’s first cancellation as the event continues to rigorous COVID-19 testing standards.
“The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee has stated that the VCU-Oregon game scheduled for Saturday night at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum is a game without a game because of the COVID-19 protocols,” the NCAA said in a statement. “This decision has been made in consultation with the Marion County Public Health Department. As a result, Oregon will advance to the next round of the tournament. The NCAA and the committee regret that the student athletes and the VCU coaching staff cannot in a tournament they are entitled to participate in. Due to privacy concerns, we cannot provide further details. “
Oregon will play the winner of Saturday night’s game between No. 2 seed Iowa and No. 15 seed Grand Canyon.
The cancellation marks a bitter end for VCU after the Rams made the NCAA tournament as an at-large team after a 19-7 season.
A source told CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander that positive tests emerged within the VCU program on Wednesday evening, Friday evening and Saturday morning. Those positive tests led health officials in Indiana and the NCAA to decide allowing VCU to continue playing was too risky, Norlander said.
Although NCAA officials previously said a team could compete with as few as five players, in this case the officials decided that the VCU’s situation “would look like it is expanding,” Norlander reported.
The no-contest means that at least four of the five Pac-12 teams that made it to the field of 68 will play in the second round. Oregon State, Colorado, and USC each won the first round. UCLA will play No. 6 seed BYU on Saturday-evening in a first-round game after the Bruins won in the First Four on Thursday-evening.
VCU and St. Bonaventure were the two teams of the Atlantic 10 in the field of 68, but both were eliminated on Saturday, with the No. 9 Bonnies seed falling to LSU. Unfortunately, the Rams never got a chance on the job.
“This is hugely disappointing and heartbreaking for the student athletes who have worked so hard for this opportunity,” Bernadette McGlade, Atlantic 10 Commissioner, said in a statement. “During this pandemic, the medical advisory councils have the power to make this decision for the safety and well-being of all student athletes, employees and teams. VCU has had an excellent year and this setback is not detracting from their performance.”