Duke University’s men’s basketball team pulled out of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and ended its season on Thursday because of issues related to the coronavirus.
The Blue Devils, seeded 10th, were scheduled to play Florida State University, the No. 2 seed, on Thursday evening in Greensboro, N.C. But in a statement on Thursday morning, the A.C.C. said the game was called off because of “a positive test, subsequent quarantining, and contact tracing within the Duke men’s basketball program.”
Kevin White, Duke’s athletic director, said that one player had tested positive for the virus and that other members of the team had been ordered to quarantine.
“Since last March when the pandemic started, we have listened to our medical experts and always put safety at the forefront of any determinations regarding competition,” White said. “As a result, this will end our 2020-21 season.”
Although Duke (13-11) has struggled this season, the program is among the nation’s most renowned — it has won five national championships — and its abrupt exit from the A.C.C. competition will assuredly provoke new skepticism of the N.C.A.A.’s plan to bring 68 teams to Indiana for the national tournament, which is scheduled to begin next week.
Duke’s athletic department has not been united in its approach playing during the pandemic. In December, the university’s women’s basketball team ended its season after just four games because of safety concerns connected to the virus.
The men’s team pressed on, though. Before Thursday’s announcement, the team had seen three games postponed or canceled because of virus issues in other programs, including two after the women’s team’s announcement.
Duke’s departure from the A.C.C. tournament came the morning after the Blue Devils defeated Louisville, 70-56. A day earlier, Duke routed Boston College, 86-51.
Florida State automatically advanced to the tournament’s semifinals and will meet the winner of the North Carolina-Virginia Tech game that will be played on Thursday night.
