VCU out of NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament over coronavirus issue, Oregon advances

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Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) was knocked out of the Men’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday due to coronavirus issues, the NCAA announced.

The game against Oregon was ruled a no-contest and the Ducks will advance to the next round.

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"The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee has declared the VCU-Oregon game scheduled for Saturday night at Indiana Farmers Coliseum a no-contest because of COVID-19 protocols. This decision was 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 VCU’s student-athletes and coaching staff will not be able to play in a tournament in which they earned the right to participate. Because of privacy issues we cannot provide further details," the NCAA said.

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VCU made it to the Atlantic 10 Championship last week but fell to St. Bonaventure. Oregon made the tournament after a successful season but did not win the Pac-12 Championship.

"With the utmost disappointment, our men's basketball program will head home from the NCAA Tournament," director of athletics Ed McLaughlin said in a statement. "We are heartbroken for our student-athletes, coaches, campus community and fans. The members of our program did an excellent job following COVID-19 protocols all year so ending our season in this manner hurts even more."

Rams coach Mike Rhoades said: "We've been tested every day for the past three weeks, but within the past 48 hours we've received multiple positive tests. We are devastated for our players and coaches. It has been a dream for all of us to play in the NCAA Tournament. We appreciate the care of our doctors and administration this year, and all our efforts and attention will be put into our players at this time. Life isn't always fair, but it's about how you deal with it and move forward."

The two teams were set to play at 9:57 p.m. ET.

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Oregon was the No. 7 seed coming into the tournament and the Rams were the No. 10 seed. Oregon now moves on to play the winner between No. 2 Iowa and No. 15 Grand Canyon.