Duke’s March Madness Streak Likely Over After ACC Tournament Game Canceled

Duke’s March Madness hopes have likely disappeared now that the basketball team won’t have a lengthy conference tournament run. The Blue Devils’ game against Florida State on Thursday night has been canceled because of a positive COVID-19 test in the program, Stadium’s Jeff Goodman reports.

The positive test means Duke is out of the ACC Tournament, according to reports, and are not projected to make the NCAA Tournament. Without an impressive showing to raise its status this week, the Blue Devils are unlikely to make the 2021 NCAA Tournament for the first time in a quarter-century.

According to Goodman, a walk-on player for Duke registered the positive COVID-19 test. Protocol dictates that all who have come into contact with the infected player, including teammates and coaches, are required to quarantine.

Duke heads into Selection Sunday with a mediocre 13-11 overall record after winning its first two games in the ACC Tournament. The Blue Devils entered the tournament as the No.9 seed with a 9-9 conference record.

Prior to Thursday’s news, Duke was listed as one of the "next four out" of the 68-team NCAA Tournament field predicted by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, meaning at least 72 teams were ranked ahead of the Blue Devils. Mike Krzyzewski’s squad only has one victory over a team ranked in the top-25.

Arguably college basketball’s top program, Duke has been selected to the NCAA Tournament in 24 straight years. That streak would have been extended to 25 years had March Madness not been canceled last season because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Duke was eliminated in the Elite Eight in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils were last national champions in 2015, their fifth title in school history. The last time they missed the Big Dance altogether was 1995.

NCAA rules stipulate that teams that make the NCAA Tournament and have positive COVID-19 tests within the team can still play if they have at least five eligible and healthy players.

The NCAA Tournament starts Thursday, March 18.