Somehow the Louisville-Carolina game may still be played on schedule, Saturday at 6 pm.

When Syracuse went home Wednesday night without playing at Louisville, it looked like Carolina’s bad luck would continue. But it may turn out that only the Cardinals’ long layoff saved the game and, if so, gives the Tar Heels a big advantage against an opponent that has been idle for 18 days.

Due to COVID complications, the ‘Ville last played on February 1, a 16-point win over Georgia Tech that moved the Cards’ ACC record to 6-3, 11-4 overall, and still in play for an NCAA tournament bid. Playing more games and solidifying a spot in the Big Dance is one reason Louisville may show up here, after all.

The COVID contagion began when head coach Chris Mack tested positive on February 7, and hopefully has ended just in time. Carolina (7-5 and 12-7) needs to play as many of its remaining scheduled games as possible for the same reasons, beginning Saturday, since its visit to BC Tuesday has already been called off.

Many factors are still up in the air as of this writing, including a treacherous weather forecast. The positive testee in the UL program that chased Syracuse away could have been within days of being cleared. If that player or person doesn’t come to Chapel Hill and everyone else on the trip has tested negative for the past week or so, UNC and Louisville may be okay.

Still, it’s about 80-20, which is why neither school has said a peep about the game, and Roy Williams’ regular day-before ZOOM conference had not been scheduled as of Thursday night. These things are fluid, considering Miami didn’t play at Carolina on February 8 after protocols for both teams passed muster and then refused to come back the next week when it had no weekday games. The 3-11 Hurricanes had nothing to gain.

The final determination will be when Louisville arrives safely in Chapel Hill and both schools go through their ACC-required protocols, including one more test with results coming back Saturday morning. Several games, all the way back to the infamous Clemson-at-Florida State football fisaco in November, have been postponed after the visiting teams arrived at the site and were ready to go.

Williams was not happy when he had to tell his players that Miami was off after eating their traditional pre-game meal four hours before tip-off. Please, Lord, don’t let it happen again.


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