Duke’s season is officially over.
The Blue Devils did not hear their name called in any capacity Selection Sunday, meaning they did not receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament nor are they one of the four COVID-replacement teams (those that could be bumped into the Big Dance if one of the original 68 teams is forced to withdraw before 6 p.m. Tuesday).
The next logical question was whether or not Duke would receive and accept a bid to the NIT.
The News and Observer’s Steve Wiseman reported shortly after CBS’s Selection Sunday show ended that Duke “will not participate in the NIT,” meaning after four days of uncertainty, the Blue Devils’ 2020-21 campaign is officially in the books.
Wiseman later clarified that the team had opted out of the NIT.
Duke withdrew from the ACC tournament Thursday after a positive COVID-19 test within the program and subsequent contact tracing. Athletic director Kevin White said in a written statement at the time that “this will end our 2020-21 season.”
However, the NCAA’s Andy Katz reported early Sunday morning that no teams notified the NCAA tournament selection committee that it didn’t expect to be able to play in the NCAA tournament, meaning Duke was still in consideration for a bid.
When asked to confirm Wiseman’s report that the Blue Devils will not play in the NIT this season, as well as confirm whether Duke was offered an NIT bid and didn’t accept, team spokesman Mike DeGeorge said, “I’ll refer you to our statement from Thursday.” He later clarified that he was referring to White’s statement.
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Jake Piazza is a Trinity senior and was sports editor of The Chronicle's 117th volume.