VCU believes COVID-19 positives could stem from problematic hotel stay ahead of Atlantic 10 title game



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The sudden departure of the No.10 seed from the 2021 NCAA tournament is due to three players testing positive for COVID-19 over a 48-hour period, sources told CBS Sports. This is the first time since last summer that VCU has tested positive for COVID-19, a source said, and it resulted in a no-challenge in their scheduled match against the No.7 seed. , Oregon, ahead of the Saturday night prognosis.

Internally, VCU is wondering if the site of the Atlantic 10 tournament title game is responsible for the program ending up out of the NCAA tournament. Sources told CBS Sports that VCU, Saint-Bonaventure and the entire event umpiring team all stayed at the Dayton Marriott – directly across from UD Arena, the site of the Dayton title match, Ohio.

“I am shocked that Saint-Bonaventure does not have positive cases,” said a source.

The ninth seed St. Bonaventure played on Saturday, losing 76-61 to 8th place to LSU in the first round.

College basketball official Roger Ayers played in the Atlantic 10 Tournament title game between Saint-Bonaventure and VCU. He then tested positive for COVID-19 after arriving in Indianapolis for the NCAA tournament. Ayers is currently battling the coronavirus and told CBS Sports he has struggled all week.

“The hotel was packed,” a source told CBS Sports. “They had some sort of other tournament there. People who didn’t follow the protocols, were walking in the hotel and the lobby without masks. There were people there who weren’t from the. A-10. The NCAA can control who is there, who is in buildings, in hotels, in the convention center. You must have photo ID with your photo that you wear around your neck wherever you go . Everyone has to wear masks, four people in an elevator, no gathering in the halls. The NCAA has full control over what goes on. “

This was not quite the case at the Dayton Marriott.

“There were [other] event there, ”the source added. There were children, parents and people with differing opinions [about COVID-19] and the hotel staff – I saw the ladies at check-in yelling at people walking through the lobby to put on their masks. “

When contacted for a statement on this matter in the A-10 tournament title game, league spokesman Drew Dickerson shared the following statement with CBS Sports: “The A-10 teams were all in the same hotel. Teams all had dedicated floors separate from each other and separate from the public. Officials did the same. There was no mingling with teams; teams had meeting rooms dedicated who were separate from everyone and separate from each other. “

VCU coaching staff met with the players on Saturday afternoon at their dedicated hotel ahead of their scheduled game against Oregon. The three players who tested positive were not allowed to attend. It is not yet clear when the team – and the players who have tested positive – will be able to leave and return to Virginia.



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