NCAAB teams that have been hit hardest by COVID-19

The sports world has been far from immune from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year’s NCAA basketball tournament was cancelled when the world was coming to grips with the situation consuming it, and even a season later, many programs are still reeling from positive tests and game cancellations.

Here are the five NCAAB teams that have been hit hardest by COVID-19.

5. Drake

The Drake Bulldogs were my mid-major team to watch a few weeks ago, and for good reason. They’re 13-0 on the season, and all but one of their wins has come by double-digits. However, a COVID-19 positive within the program caused two games against Missouri State to be postponed.

When Drake is rolling, they can beat most teams in the country. Given the momentum they had following 13 straight wins to start the season (including two blowouts over a talented Southern Illinois team earlier this month), it had to have been a body blow to put things on pause.

4. Siena

The Saints ended the 2019-20 season on a 10-game win streak and were favored to win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament. That was one of many conference tournaments cancelled by the pandemic, one that continued to grip the MAAC at the planned start of this season.

The Saints paused team activities twice in the months leading up to the campaign, and they didn’t hit the court for the first time until Jan. 3. Since then, Siena has reeled off six more wins without a loss to tie a school record. Eight players on the squad average 8.8 points per game or more, and reigning MAAC Player of the Year Jalen Pickett is seen by some as a possible NBA prospect.

3. DePaul

There are pauses, there are long pauses, and then there’s what DePaul dealt with to start the season. The Blue Demons had 10 games cancelled or postponed early in the year due to positive tests before finally taking the floor just before Christmas. Since then, three of the team’s eight scheduled games against St. John’s, Villanova, and Georgetown were postponed, and they’ve played a total of just six games as of this writing.

DePaul probably wasn’t going to be a tournament team anyway (they’re 2-4 and near the bottom of the Big East). However, the last thing any team needs is this many starts and stops, let alone one that was probably going to be in for a long season to begin with. Simply put, it’s been tough to watch.

2. San Diego

The San Diego Toreros had 17 games scheduled between November and mid-January. They have played six of them.

That’s not a misprint or a typo. Five games have been cancelled, while another six (West Coast Conference games) have been postponed. In an ambitious attempt to make up the games, San Diego has 10 games scheduled for a three-week span beginning in late-January. The final game of that stretch, the reward for a taxing part of the schedule? A trip to top-ranked Gonzaga. In a word…yikes.

1. Duke

The Blue Devils are reeling for various reasons. In addition to being out of the AP Top 25 rankings for the first time in five years, Duke has seen several games postponed or cancelled, and legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski himself missed a game after a family member tested positive for COVID-19.

There’s still plenty of time left in the season for the legendary program to right the ship. The power-packed ACC provides opportunities for statement wins every week, and two of Duke’s three losses this year were to teams with top 10 rankings. Still, calling the first part of the season tumultuous seems like an understatement.