The Medic: NCAA’s March Madness offers real threat for pandemic madness

A couple of columns ago, I talked about my hesitation toward the month of March in the college basketball world. More specifically, I was worried about the dangers the conference tournaments pose right before the Indianapolis bubble NCAA men’s tournament. 

Unfortunately, it looks like some of my worries are starting to come true, most notably with my home state’s No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks getting knocked out of the Big 12 tournament after a positive coronavirus case and the same with no. 4 Virginia in the ACC who are both in the West region for this tournament. 

Although we knew even beforehand that the selection committee would choose these programs regardless of their coronavirus situation, it highlights the inadequate planning from the NCAA and its respective conferences on how they would manage this transition from the conference to the national tournament.

Back when the NBA had their bubble, they practically gave the NCAA the playbook on how to have a bubble tournament in a safe and effective manner. When the NBA bubble was created, teams arrived in Orlando July 7, and the resumption of the season/playoffs took place July 30. There was a gap for around three weeks for testing, making sure everyone is ready, etc. 

Although I do agree that the NBA’s gap was a bit too long for the purposes of the NCAA tournament since this is in a single-elimination format, there should be at least a week or two for the 68 teams to arrive in Indianapolis so everyone can be safe and on an equal playing field for the tournament. All individuals part of each team are assigned a single room and can only come and go to games and practices with official NCAA buses.  

In my last column about this subject, I did note that the NCAA does have a well-thought-out plan in place to try and keep everyone safe, where the teams’ squads need seven consecutive negative tests starting March 6 to go to the tournament. Those that are positive will end up having to quarantine and then can rejoin their team in the bubble. 

However, one important point that everyone is not putting enough emphasis on is coronavirus incubation times. As I have cited on many occasions throughout the course of my columns, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it takes up to 14 days for the virus to be at high enough levels in your body to cause a positive test. 

On top of that, making certain teams not have some of their vital players and staff participate because of a positive coronavirus test does not ensure fairness in tournament play. I mean that depending on who is out for a team, this can severely impact how well they can perform in Indianapolis. 

I know that is the standard that most leagues have put in place already during their seasons where teams just have to simply adjust if players and coaches are out because of the coronavirus. I think with the stakes of the NCAA tournament, where you either win or go home, there should be protocols in place so that every team will have all their assets available. 

Finally, teams have a deadline till March 16 for the men’s tournament to state whether they can attend, and if they are unable to replacement teams are available to take their place. However, once the tournament begins, any team that cannot participate anymore due to coronavirus will have their scheduled opponent advance. 

Overall, just starting tournament play this week is not the wisest decision and should at least be extended for another week. Because of the volatile circumstances of coronavirus, many other leagues have had to make similar decisions. 

But this upsets many fans, leading to widespread comments all over social media such as a Mickey Mouse Ring/Win/Championship (in reference to how the NBA bubble was at Disney World) to underline how these competitions are not authentic enough because of coronavirus’s impact on how well teams can play. 

Hopefully, no games have to be canceled/forfeited because of the coronavirus and we can have a safe, fair and fun tournament to look forward to. 

Pratik Thakur is a sophomore writing about sports and its intersection with health policy during the coronavirus pandemic. His column, “The Medic,” runs every other Wednesday.