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No member of Syracuse’s program who traveled to Greensboro tested positive for COVID-19 upon returning to Syracuse, Athletic Director John Wildhack said in a statement. No players are required to quarantine, Wildhack added.

Syracuse played Virginia in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday and a member of the Cavaliers program tested positive for COVID-19 a day later. The Orange lost 72-69, and the positive test for the Cavaliers ended their conference tournament run as well. The player who contracted the virus reportedly played in the game against SU.

“We are grateful for the ACC’s rigorous testing and public health protocols, which include the use of Kinexon digital proximity technology,” Wildhack’s statement read. “Syracuse continues to follow ACC and NCAA testing protocols, which has included daily COVID tests that began prior to the start of the ACC Tournament.” 

Wildhack confirmed all “Tier 1” individuals tested negative after the Virginia game. That designation, defined by the NCAA, is “the highest exposure tier and consists of student-athletes, coaches, athletic trainers, and physical therapists, medical staff, equipment staff and officials.” 

Syracuse remains on the NCAA Tournament bubble, with many bracketologists projecting the Orange as one of the last four teams in. If selected to compete in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, each player will need to test negative for seven consecutive days ahead of the Big Dance. If necessary, teams can participate in Indiana with five healthy players.

Every NCAA Tournament game will be played in Indiana, at various venues, in a pseudo-bubble. Traveling members will wear Kinexon tracking devices on arrival to enhance contact tracing and avoid one case affecting an entire team. 

SU has had two COVID-19 pauses this year — one in late December and one right before the season opener. Known members of the team who have contracted the virus include head coach Jim Boeheim, Buddy Boeheim, Joe Girard III and Frank Anselem. 

“The players have done an unbelievable job of isolating themselves,” Boeheim said Thursday after the UVA loss. “I mean, it’s 75 degrees out here and we’ve been in the hotel since we got here. I mean, it’s really difficult. Really difficult to do that. I think the players just have been great.” 

Along with Virginia, Duke had its season cut short in the ACC Tournament when a walk-on tested positive, triggering subsequent contact tracing. In the Big 12 Tournament, Kansas also withdrew after a positive case. 

“I mean, it can happen. It’s unfortunate,” Boeheim said of the Duke situation. “That’s why I think going to the NCAA and what they’re trying to do is if you isolate everybody and keep the chips in, if one guy gets it … you can still play. I mean, we have guys on our team — we keep the chips every day, and most of our players are not near each other at all. They have their own rooms, and we space them out as much as possible.”

Published on March 12, 2021 at 5:51 pm

Contact Danny: [email protected] | @DannyEmerman