ACC Basketball

Duke's men's basketball team will only play conference games for the remainder of the season, the team announced on Thursday.

The Blue Devils have one non-conference game remaining on their current slate, a home game against Gardner-Webb on December 19.

"Making sure that we're doing the right thing for our players, just for safety, we're not going to play any non-conference games," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We're not going to try to reschedule three games. We're going to play conference and hopefully get to play all of them."

Contests against Charleston Southern, Elon and Gardner-Webb will be scrapped. 

The Blue Devils will begin ACC play December 16 against Notre Dame, then reconvene to face Pitt on December 29.

As The Athletic's Brendan Marks noted, Duke players have been sequestered in a hotel, leaving only to attend class and practice in the basketball facilities. The break in the schedule will allow players to return to their homes for a short break and visit with family. 

Players will be allowed to leave after the Notre Dame game and are expected back on campus by December 23 to go through testing protocols and resume practice. 

"This is the best decision we could make as a program, in making sure that we are doing the right thing for our players," Krzyzewski said. "This will also allow our team to have time over the holidays to safely enjoy with their families. These kids need to be with their families, at least for a little bit. So we will play the Notre Dame game on December 16, and then allow our team four or five days at home before returning here to prepare for the remainder of our ACC schedule—and hopefully get to play all of them. These kids go through so much, and we need to take care of them."

The University of Virginia men's basketball team is pausing all activities because of COVID-19 issues within the program.

Ranked No. 18 in the country, the Cavaliers were set to face off against No. 4 Michigan State on Wednesday in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge before UVA was forced to postpone. The school has since announced the cancelation of Sunday's game against William & Mary.

No decisions have been made regarding the Cavs' scheduled games following Sunday.

UVA has now seen three games impacted by COVID-19 with a previously postponed contest against Wake Forest originally scheduled for December 16.

No makeup dates have been announced for any of the three matchups.

At 3-1 on the season, the Cavaliers are expected to contend for an ACC title yet again with forward Sam Hauser (14.5 points per game) leading the way.

Head coach Tony Bennett's team is now slated to face No. 9 Villanova next on December 19, but the status of that game remains to be determined.

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski is concerned about the NCAA's lack of leadership as the organization attempts to hold a basketball season amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking to reporters after the Blue Devils' 83-68 loss to Illinois on Tuesday, Krzyzewski explained why playing games now doesn't feel like the right thing to do:

"I don't think it feels right to anybody. I mean, everyone is concerned. 

"We made an assessment. I'm not sure who leads college basketball. It's done by committee. Anything that's led by committee is not agile in handling a situation. There was a consensus. It wasn't like well-planned. Just that we were going to start Nov. 25. That was made without knowing where the vaccine was, how many cases. Basically, it was more a mentality of get as many games in as possible. I would just like for the safety, the mental and physical health of players and staff to assess where we're at."

Krzyzewski had been outspoken about having the NCAA tournament, telling SiriusXM's ESPNU Radio in July:

"We need to have the NCAA tournament, and we need to have some contingency plans based on when the season would start. Everyone says it's going to start on time. We'll see.

"I would like for us to take a great look at contingency plans, you know, when it might also be. Can it be in April? Can it be in May? But we need—and the NCAA needs—[a] men's NCAA tournament. If you don't have it two years in a row, the NCAA, financially, could go in another direction."

Per Kyle Boone and David Cobb of CBS Sports, there have been 50 games canceled or rescheduled since the college basketball season started Nov. 25.

The 2020-21 season was originally supposed to begin Nov. 10, but the NCAA adjusted its schedule for men's and women's basketball, with teams allowed to play a maximum of 27 games. They must play at least 13 games to qualify for the NCAA tournament.

Wednesday's men's college hoops contest between No. 4 Michigan State and No. 18 Virginia has been postponed following an outbreak of COVID-19 within the Cavaliers' program. 

The marquee matchup in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge is one of the highlight's of this year's cross-conference slate.

No make-up date has been announced yet, and the status of Virginia's Sunday home game against William & Mary remains to be determined.

Michigan State is still scheduled to face Oakland at the Breslin Center on Sunday, per a release from the Spartans.

UVA last played at home on Friday in an overtime victory over Kent State. A Dec. 16 contest between the Cavs and Wake Forest has also been postponed. 

Both Virginia (3-1) and MSU (5-0) are expected to contend for a national title this year. A matchup between the two served as a resume-defining clash early in the season. Now it's on hold. 

The Cavaliers did not disclose any further information regarding COVID-19 within their program. 

The NCAA enforcement staff said Louisville "knew or should have known that Adidas was its booster" after the school was hit with a notice of allegations accusing it of recruiting violations after an Adidas employee and consultant reportedly offered Brian Bowen II's father $100,000 if the recruit would join the Cardinals basketball program in 2017, per Mark Schlabach of ESPN. 

Louisville had responded to that notice of allegations by claiming that Adidas and its employees didn't represent the school, and that the school was a victim of rogue actions. 

The NCAA wasn't buying Louisville's claims, however: 

"It should have been very clear to Louisville that if Adidas employees offered or arranged to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars for a prospect to enroll based on his basketball ability, something not available to the general student population or compliant schools, this conduct would be an NCAA violation attributable to the institution."

The NCAA enforcement team added:

"Adidas' financial contributions to the institution's athletics programs were large, formal and well-known by the institution and its athletics department administration. It is not a violation of NCAA rules for a corporate entity to be a representative of an institution's athletics interests. However, an institution is responsible for NCAA rules violations committed by one of its representatives."

Three men—former Adidas employee James Gatto, aspiring business manager Christian Dawkins and consultant Merl Code—were federally indicted for conspiring to make a $25,000 payment to Bowen's father as a part of the $100,000 bribe. 

"This offer and $25,000 payment were designed to give Louisville an advantage over compliant programs," the NCAA wrote. "They were intended to provide a recruiting and competitive edge to Louisville not available to other programs."

Louisville was hit with a Level I violation and three Level II for various recruiting infractions under former head coach Rick Pitino, who is now the head coach at Iona. NCAA enforcement said Pitino "failed to promote an atmosphere for compliance."

The No. 4 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team was upset 61-60 by the unranked San Francisco Dons in the HomeLight Classic at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Friday.

Senior guard Jamaree Bouyea led San Francisco in the shocking victory, as he scored a game-high 19 points.

Virginia fell to 1-1 after opening the campaign with an 89-54 win over Towson, while San Francisco is 2-1 after previously losing to UMass Lowell and beating Towson.

Despite trailing 61-54 with just over two minutes remaining in the game, the Cavaliers had a chance to win it after San Francisco's Josh Kunen missed the front end of a one-and-one with 10 seconds left while the Dons were clinging to a 61-60 lead.

Senior forward Sam Hauser launched a three-point shot with two seconds left, but it was off the mark, which allowed San Francisco to secure the win.

Adam Zagoria of the New York Times noted San Francisco hadn't beaten a Top Five team in nearly 40 years before Friday's upset:

Virginia held a 24-21 lead at halftime in what was a defensive slugfest, but San Francisco turned up the heat in the second half with 40 points thanks largely to some hot shooting from beyond the arc, as the Dons went 13-of-28 from three while Virginia made just three of 13 attempts.

The Cavs had three players score in double figures Friday, but their leading scorers had just 11 points apiece, as Justin McKoy and Reece Beekman shared that distinction.

Virginia is no stranger to being on the wrong side of a massive upset. The Cavaliers became the first No. 1 seed in the history of the NCAA tournament to lose to a No. 16 seed in the first round when they fell 74-54 to UMBC in 2018.

Head coach Tony Bennett's team overcame that loss in a big way, however, as Virginia won its first national title in school history the following season.

Last season, Virginia was 23-7 and finished as the No. 16 team in the nation before the remainder of the campaign was called off because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, San Francisco has not been ranked since going 25-6 during the 1981-82 season.

The Dons won national titles in 1955 and 1956 with the legendary Bill Russell to lead the way, but the West Coast Conference team has not reached the NCAA tournament since 1998.

With a win over Virginia under its belt, San Francisco may be on its way to ending that drought.

The Duke men's basketball team announced Monday that its season opener against Gardner-Webb has been postponed after the Bulldogs registered a positive COVID-19 test within their program. 

The Blue Devils will instead start their season at home against Coppin State on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET. 

The coronavirus pandemic has also forced major programs like Arizona State, Baylor, Florida and Villanova to either postpone or cancel their season-opening contests, per Myron Medcalf of ESPN. 

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski has been a proponent of only holding a league schedule amid the pandemic. He's also expressed the opinion that the NCAA should consider pushing back the start of the season.

The Blue Devils will open the 2020-21 season ranked No. 9 in the Associated Press Poll and No. 8 in the Coaches Poll. They are loaded with upside, with both a mix of young prospects (Jeremy Roach, Jalen Johnson) and returning talents (Joey Baker, Wendell Moore Jr. and Matthew Hurt).

Whether they have enough talent to be a national championship contender remains to be seen. Certainly, they are one of the early favorites to win the ACC. For now, however, the bigger concern remains how to keep players and staff safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski has concerns about the possibility that the NCAA holds the men's basketball tournament in a single location.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Krzyzewski called it a logistical "challenge to get that many teams" in one spot for the event.

On Monday, the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee announced it had begun preliminary talks with the state of Indiana and the city of Indianapolis to host the 68-team event in the Indianapolis metropolitan area. The tourney is scheduled to begin with First Four games March 16 and 17.

Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis is already scheduled to host the Final Four in April, making the city a logical choice to host the entire tournament if the committee decides to go that route.

According to ESPN's Myron Medcalf, a Marion County health department official said the NCAA had yet to contact it about potentially holding the event in Indianapolis.

Krzyzewski has been adamant that the men's basketball tournament must be played this season because of the financial risk it would present to the NCAA if it went two straight years without the event.

"We're the thing that the NCAA is most concerned about because men's college basketball and the tournament pays for something like ... it produces 98 percent or more of the money for the NCAA," Krzyzewski told ESPN Radio's Keyshawn, JWill & Zubin in August (h/t Medcalf). "We need to have the tournament. We can't have it where two years in a row you don't have the NCAA tournament."

On Thursday, Krzyzewski said the NCAA can "always keep in mind" pushing the season back if the COVID-19 pandemic gets "worse than what it is."

The 2020-21 men's and women's college basketball seasons are scheduled to begin Nov. 25. Teams can play a maximum of 27 regular-season games, including one multiple-team event.

The men's tournament is scheduled to run from March 16 to April 5. The women's tournament is slated to take place from March 19 to April 4.

Syracuse men's basketball head coach Jim Boeheim announced that he has tested positive for COVID-19:

The 75-year-old Boeheim, who is asymptomatic and currently in isolation, is the second high-profile men's college hoops coach to test positive this month. Michigan State announced Monday that head coach Tom Izzo had a positive COVID-19 test.

Basketball activities are now paused for the Orange, per director of athletics John Wildhack.

Syracuse ran another round of tests after Boeheim's positive result, and another case emerged for one unnamed member of the program.

"We are following all CDC guidelines and ACC protocols, and working closely with the Onondaga County Department of Health, to mitigate further transmission of the virus," Wildhack said.

"All members of the basketball program will be tested again, multiple times, over the next week."

Should Boeheim be forced to miss any time, then Adrian Autry, the associate head coach, would lead the team.

College basketball teams have encountered numerous issues amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which is spiking across the United States.

Per the COVID Tracking Project, states reported over 163,000 new cases and nearly 70,000 total hospitalizations on Saturday alone.

Of note, Seton Hall announced a pause in team activities Wednesday because of COVID-19, and its Nov. 25 game against Rider has been canceled. COVID-19 hit the Minnesota men's hoops program, and its activities have been suspended indefinitely.

The Division I men's college hoops schedule is set to begin Nov. 25, with Syracuse slated to begin Nov. 27.

Dior Johnson, a 5-star point guard ranked third overall on 247Sports' list of the best class of 2022 men's basketball prospects, has decommitted from Syracuse University. 

Johnson announced the decision on Tuesday afternoon:

The 6'3" point guard had committed to the Orange on Feb. 7:

247Sports lists Johnson as having 16 offers, including from Memphis and LSU.

Per Matthew Gutierrez of The Athletic, Johnson was Syracuse's highest-ranked recruit since NBA star and NCAA champion Carmelo Anthony.

Mike Waters of the Syracuse Post-Standard wrote on Tuesday that Johnson and Syracuse "mutually agreed" to part ways.

Waters ran down the reported series of events leading to that decision, beginning with Johnson's transfer to Oak Hill Academy, a move that Syracuse coaches supported:

"Johnson suffered a stress reaction in his foot in early September. He had his foot placed in a boot. Initially, Oak Hill coach Steve Smith said Johnson would be sidelined for about three weeks, but would return in time for the Warriors' season-opener on Oct. 27.

"But Johnson abruptly left Oak Hill to return to his mother’s home in California. He made the decision without the knowledge of the SU coaches.

"Johnson recently enrolled at Corona (Calif.) Centennial High School.

"It now appears that Johnson and the Syracuse coaching staff, including head coach Jim Boeheim and assistant Gerry McNamara, were both ready to move on."

Waters also noted that Johnson could decide to play in the G-League until he is eligible for the NBA draft or go overseas for a year a la 2020 first-round NBA draft prospects LaMelo Ball and RJ Hampton.

On that front, a pair of scouts told Gutierrez back in February that it was "unlikely" Johnson would play college ball.

"Even if the [one-and-done rule] isn’t passed until 2023 or later, two veteran scouts said, his skill level may be so high by 2022 that it’s 'unlikely' he plays at the college level," Gutierrez wrote.

"His commitment is so early, they said, that a lot could change in the interim."

Regardless of what Johnson decides, whatever team that lands him will be getting a talented player with NBA potential. 

Josh Gershon of 247Sports gave this July 19 scouting report on Johnson:

"Good size and length to go with sturdy frame that should carry plenty of strength. Impressive skill set given athletic ability. Has handle and vision to play on the ball, while he is an efficient enough shooter/scorer to play off it. Will be able to guard the one and two at next level. Talent-wise he is a no-brainer elite prospect at this stage. Bounced around several high schools before sophomore year. Finding stability will be key, but has continued to progress regardless. Projects as high major priority recruit."

Forward Emoni Bates, who has committed to Michigan State, tops the Class of 2022 list ahead of Johnson. Big man Jalen Duren, who is uncommitted, sits second.