Damn it…
It is the only appropriate term to describe what happened over the weekend at Chapel Hill, when members of the North Carolina basketball team and a few hundred students lost their heads during a pandemic that killed more than 462,000 Americans – all because they won one of the worst Duke teams that coach K has ever had … for four points.
Monday night’s game between North Carolina and Miami was canceled after a video appeared featuring Day’Ron Sharpe and UNC Armando Bacot celebrating their victory over Duke at a party without masks. The video was uploaded by The Daily Tar Heel, the school student’s newspaper.
The victory between the two teams that have a combined record of 19-13 was so impressive for a few hundred UNC students, that they celebrated in the streets by jumping on a mattress that was on fire, while all those present were without a mask.
Before Monday night, Miami had not dealt with a single cancellation or postponement all season. That’s why they had no trouble turning around and flying home.
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The timing of events is the most interesting part of this fiasco, as history broke out on the same day that UNC made history. Monday’s reveal of the latest AP Top 25 ranking revealed that for the first time since 1961, UNC, Duke, Kentucky, Kansas and UCLA were all disqualified. Tar Heels are in the bubble to do the NCAA Tournament.
Ironically, in addition to the antics that UNC students and players have been involved in, this is a week that once again proved how many problems college basketball is having during COVID. Baylor, the country’s second team, postponed three more games, bringing its total to at least 10 games that have been postponed / canceled this season, as they are not scheduled to play again until February 20. And there’s Michigan, the third team in the country that hasn’t played since January 22
To gain a better understanding of how this season has been tumultuous, the The NCAA has a continuous list of the latest COVID news for this season. Look well. But, be careful, it’s too much. This is what happens when you need a basketball tournament because cancellation of last year’s version resulted in $ 600 million in lost revenue.