Duke Out of ACC Tournament After Positive COVID-19 Test Within Program

The Duke men's basketball team will not play in its ACC tournament game against Florida State on Thursday after a positive COVID-19 test within the program, the ACC announced on Thursday.

As of Thursday morning, it is not known who on the team tested positive for COVID-19. Stadium's Jeff Goodman first reported the news of the positive test.

According to CBS Sports' Matt Norlander, this is Duke's first positive COVID-19 test among Tier 1 personnel—players and coaches—since the pandemic began. Norlander reports the positive test is with a player who did not play in Wednesday's win over Louisville.

As a result of the game being canceled, Florida State will advances to the ACC tournament semifinals and will play the winner of Thursday's North Carolina vs. Virginia Tech game.

"While our season was different than any other that I can remember, I loved the 2020-21 Duke Basketball team and was honored to be their coach," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said in a statement. "We have not asked more of any team in our history, and they deserve enormous credit for handling everything like the outstanding young men they are.

"...We are disappointed we cannot keep fighting together as a group after two outstanding days in Greensboro. This season was a challenge for every team across the country and as we have seen over and over, this global pandemic is very cruel and is not over yet. As many safeguards as we implemented, no one is immune to this terrible virus."

The Blue Devils (14–11) defeated Louisville on Wednesday night to extend their season, but with the decision not to play on Thursday, this means the team's year is all but over. 

As a result of dropping out of the tournament, the Blue Devils are expected to miss the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1995. That season Krzyzewski missed most of the year due to a ruptured disk in his lower back. 

The program's 24-season streak is the third-longest in NCAA history, trailing North Carolina (27) and Kansas (30).

This season, Duke was ranked as high as No. 6 early in the season but soon fell out of the rankings for the first time since 2016. 

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