Here is a Look at Just How Bad Duke's Covid Crisis Is
Last week, Duke had to pull out of tournament play after dealing with Covid-19 positives. The perennial NCAA sweetheart could have still played in the March Madness NCAA Tournament had they gotten a grip on any outbreak. The Committee ultimately stymied that idea, making it clear this Blue Devils team wasn't worthy anyway.
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Duke was just 13-11 overall and 9-9 in conference play. It is only the second time in 38 years, the Duke Blue Devils are not part of the NCAA tournament. The last time this happened was way back in 1995 in fact.
Some suggested Covid-19 might have been used as a convenient excuse for the Blue Devils to save face.
But it turns out the Covid-19 crisis on campus is very real.
The University saw nearly as many cases of the coronavirus last week as it did during the entire fall semester. Its online tracking system shows a quadrupling of positive cases among students over the previous week.
Top administrators blame fraternities for the surge amid reports of recruitment activities and off-campus parties.
The campus will remain on lockdown through Sunday. In-person classes have been moved online and off-campus students are urged to stay off campus. Those in residence halls or apartments must remain in their room unless they are performing essential activities.
The vast majority of the 231 new cases reported from March 8 through Sunday occurred within the university’s undergraduate student population, which accounts for only about 0.06% of North Carolina’s population of 10.5 million people, and comes at a time when cases are decreasing across the state and country.
Duke wasn’t interested in the NIT.
Speaking about the situation on his SiriusXM radio show “Basketball and Beyond with Coach K” on Tuesday, Krzyzewski expressed no anger or frustration.
“You have to earn your way in,” Krzyzewski said. “We didn’t do enough and then right there at the end, look there is no right time to get the virus.
“It’s no one’s fault,” he said. “And I’m good. Look, I’ve been the luckiest guy in the world. Are you kidding? Forty-six years at West Point and Duke, 11 years with the U.S. team. We’ve won a lot. Part of appreciating your winning is losing or not making it. Whatever time (it is), toward the end of my career, it makes me appreciate it more.
“My heart goes out to my team,” he said. “I’ve had those times. They haven’t. They haven’t. This is two years. Last year, the guys who were on the team, we were 25-6 and would have been a top 4 seed at least and didn’t get a chance to play and now don’t get a chance to play again. I feel bad for them.”
This year, they were nowhere near a top 4 seed, however. Let's face it, this just wasn't a very good Duke squad.
- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com
