A rematch of one of the great NCAA Tournament games in recent years will not be played because of coronavirus concerns.
Thursday’s scheduled matchup between No. 1 Gonzaga and Southern was canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests within the Bulldogs program that involved an unidentified player and member of the team’s traveling party.
The cancelation was the fourth HBCU game impacted by COVID-19 over the last week. Games involving Florida A&M, Alcorn State and Alabama A&M all had contests impacted by virus-related issues.
Gonzaga and Southern most recently played in the first round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament. It was there that the Jaguars — led by 21 points from guard Derick Beltran — nearly pulled off a historic upset, eventually falling 64-58 to Gonzaga.
“We were basically an unknown ballclub that showed they can play the game of basketball,” Southern head coach Roman Banks said after the game. “But we came here to win a ballgame, not play a ballgame.”
Relive the Southern-Gonzaga classic below
