College Men: Denver out of NCAA Tournament due to Covid-19 protocols

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Apr 20, 2021

A day after the NCAA Division I Men's Tournament field was announced, Summit League champion Denver withdrew due to Covid-19 protocols.

Omaha will be the Summit representative at the upcoming NCAA Tournament and face UNC Greensboro in the opening round on Thursday.

The Pioneers had been awarded the automatic bid, claiming their seventh regular season crown in eight tries, when they finished with a 6-2-0 record and the best points-per-match.

The final regular-season match scheduled for last Sunday afternoon between Omaha and Denver was cancelled due to Covid-19 issues. Omaha would have won the conference if it had beaten Denver.

In the Horizon League, Wright State withdrew from the men's tournament and Northern Kentucky advanced to the  championship match due to Covid-related matters among Wright State personnel.

On the women's side, Montana was awarded the Big Sky title when the tournament final against Northern Arizona was called off due to NAU's Covid-related issues. Covid also forced the cancellation of two first-round Big Ten women's games.

Dates.
First round: April 29
Second round: May 2
Third round: May 6
Quarterfinals: May 10
Semifinals: May 14
Final: May 17

Bracket: NCAA Division I Men

First Round
April 29 in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Jacksonville (Atlantic Sun champion) vs. American (Patriot champion),  6 p.m.
April 29 in Greensboro, N.C.
UNCG (Southern champion) vs. *Omaha (Summit runner-up), 6 p.m.
Bowling Green (Mid-American champion) vs. Monmouth (MAAC champion), 8 p.m.
April 29 in Wilmington, N.C.
Milwaukee (Horizon champion) vs. St. Francis, Brooklyn (Northeast), 6 pm.
*Replaced Denver due to COVID-19 protocols.
All times ET.

Second Round
May 2 in Winston-Salem, N.C.
No. 5 seed Wake Forest (ACC at-large) vs. Coastal Carolina (Sun Belt fall champion), 5 p.m.
No. 1 seed Clemson (ACC champion) vs. Jacksonville-American winner, 8 p.m.
May 2 in Wilson, N.C.
Fordham (Atlantic-10 champion)  vs. Marshall (Conference USA champion), 1 p.m.
UCF (AAC champion) vs. James Madison (CAA champion), 5 p.m.
May 2 in Mathews, N.C.
No. 8 seed Georgetown (Big East at-large) vs. High Point (Big South champion), Noon.
No. 7 seed Washington (Pac-12 at-large) vs. Grand Canyon (WAC at-large), 4 p.m.
No. 6 seed Seton Hall (Big East champion) vs. Air Force (WAC champion), 8 p.m.
May 2 in Greensboro, N.C.
Kentucky (Conference USA at-large) vs. New Hampshire (America East champion), Noon.
Penn State (Big Ten at-large) vs. UMass (Atlantic-10 at-large), 1 p.m.
Oregon State (Pac-10 at-large) vs. Virginia Tech (ACC at-large), 4 p.m.
No. 4 seed Stanford (Pac-12 champion) vs. UNCG-Denver winner, 5 p.m.
No. 2 seed Pittsburgh (ACC at-large) vs. Bowling Green-Monmouth winner, 8 p.m.
May 2 in Cary, N.C.
Marquette (Big East at-large) vs. LMU (WCC champion), 1 p.m.
North Carolina (ACC at-large) vs. Charlotte (Conference USA at-large), 5 p.m.
May 2 in Wilmington, N.C.
Maryland (Big Ten at-large) vs. Missouri State (Missouri Valley champion), 1 p.m.
No. 3 seed Indiana (Big Ten champion) vs. Milwaukee-St. Francis, Brooklyn winner, 5 p.m.
All times ET.