March 1, 2022

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A COLLEGIATE TIMES SPECIAL ISSUE

March 1, 2022

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#CTMADNESS BRACKET CHALLENGE Today marks the first day of March, the month that often means much more to sports-loving students, faculty and locals than others. As most of you know, it’s the month when 68 teams from the men’s and women’s divisions each participate in a single-elimination tournament, fighting for the NCAA Division I national championship, to conclude their 2021–22 basketball seasons.

Make your bracket starting at 6 p.m. on Selection Sunday, March 13, and before the initial First Four round on March 15.

Whether you’re an expert bracketologist and avid college basketball fan or someone who loves March Madness for the viewing parties, chips and dip, and college mascots, our Collegiate Times bracket challenge welcomes all who are ready for a healthy competition.

Follow along and use our hashtag #CTMadness on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram throughout the tournament so we can keep up with the competition together. We will announce our winner’s ESPN Men’s Tournament Challenge username on all three social media platforms, so follow us @CollegiateTimes to receive all bracket announcements!

Join our CTMadness22 bracket team for the men’s tournament through the ESPN Tournament Challenge app or website to see how far your lineup goes.

There will be a PRIZE for whoever gains the most points by the time the men’s championship is claimed.

The CT will be posting updates on both the men’s and women’s March Madness tournaments – so stay tuned.

ACC Tournament: A look back to March 2020

Former sports editor Robby Fletcher reflects on his unique ACC experience due to the COVID-19 pandemic breakout.

CLAIRE CASTAGNO sports editor

As fellow sports editor Devin Shepard and I gear up to head to Brooklyn, New York, to cover the ACC men’s basketball tournament, I talked to former Collegiate Times sports editor Robby Fletcher about his experience covering a very interesting ACC tournament in March 2020.

On March 12, 2020, the ACC canceled its men’s basketball tournament due to COVID-19 just 15 minutes before Florida State and Clemson were set to tip off the first game of the quarterfinal round. There were still seven games left on the schedule to be played.

“It was definitely one of those things where every writer was on edge because there was a huge possibility it was going to get canceled and no official was telling us anything,” Fletcher said.

Fletcher recalls assuming the tournament was going to be shut down while he was watching game six on March 11 — North Carolina against Syracuse, the last game that was played before cancellation.

“I just remember looking around, and nobody was watching the game,” Fletcher said. “Everyone was on their computer, on Twitter, and in the span of five minutes it was ‘Adam Silver cancels the NBA season’, and then all these other college tournaments are closing down; the ACC was one of the few holdouts.”

The night before the cancellation, the ACC had announced that the tournament would continue without fans, but COVID-19 was causing increasing hysteria by the minute, and other tournaments were dropping like flies.

Reporters received an email from ACC communications at the same time the ACC tweeted the event was over.

“We were in a moment in history, we realized this has never happened before. No one’s ever covered anything like this, there’s so much to write about,” Fletcher said.

Little did we know this would become the norm — and for a long time, too. In the 2021–22 season thus far, over 150 college basketball programs have been put on pause at some point due to COVID-19.

“We (Fletcher and other reporters)

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got a drink across the street and we were all breaking down just how insane the whole concept was,” Fletcher said. “An entire tournament getting shut down, and not just one, every major tournament.”

Thankfully for Fletcher, it was his second time covering the ACC Tournament, so he wasn’t too devastated to miss out.

“After my first time covering the tournament, I felt like I reached a press nirvana. I got to cover one of the most interesting ACC tournaments I’ve ever seen,” Fletcher said. “I never thought that could be beat, so going in for the second year, I was extreme-

ly excited but I wasn’t heartbroken.”

As we head into this year’s ACC Tournament, we hope it will be just as interesting, but only basketball-wise on the court.

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SYDNEY JOHNSON / COLLEGIATE TIMES

Virginia Tech March Madness bid predictions The sports staff predicts whether or not the Hokies will make it to the dance in 2022.

COLLEGIATE TIMES SPORTS STAFF

The Hokies have picked up their play in recent weeks and look to be on the NCAA Tournament bubble. However, there is still a lot of work to do if they plan to make an appearance at the big dance. Our sports staff gave their predictions on whether or not Virginia Tech will play in March Madness this spring.

Ridge Wilson: Tech will not make March Madness In the interest of full disclosure, I hope that I’m wrong. The NET rankings are being generous to Tech, labeling them as a talented team having an underachieving season. However, the strength of schedule is shoddy, and the Hokies have zero Quad 1 wins with two really bad losses against NC State and Boston College. Outside of the upcoming game at Miami, no other games would help Tech’s NCAA Tournament resume except for a deep run in Brooklyn.

As for Tech’s chances, I believe they

will end up falling short of the tournament field. As much as the Hokies need to win out and make some noise in Brooklyn, their shooting will likely abandon them again at an inopportune time, leaving another hole in their resume. If Tech doesn’t win the ACC Tournament, I still don’t trust them to sneak into the field with the amount of bids stolen every year via massive upsets in conference tournaments. The Hokies will end up in the NIT in a disappointing season.

Ashlyn O’Neill: Why the Virginia Tech men will not make the tournament this year Unfortunately, with Virginia Tech’s record alone, the future looks bleak for a possible at-large bid to the tournament this year. The losing record the Hokies currently have in ACC play and their lessthan-stellar strength of schedule doesn’t look great. Between Virginia Tech’s bad losses to the likes of Dayton and NC State, and a quad score sitting at 0.5, the resume just might not be sharp enough for the Hokies to snag a spot this year.

Yet the NET rankings are favorable to Virginia Tech and have the Hokies sitting at number 40 ahead of fellow ACC foes Notre Dame, Wake Forest, and even North Carolina for the moment. But that perhaps-generous ranking is likely due to the 6-0 record against Quad 4 teams and 6-2 record against Quad 3 teams.

Meanwhile Virginia Tech is 0-5 against Quad 1 which significantly lowers the chance of a tournament appearance.

Additionally, the Hokies sit at a 1-2 record on neutral court, which the tournament selection committee would look on rather unfavorably.

Devin Shepard: Virginia Tech will not make the NCAA Tournament Despite their hot stretch of play through the past couple weeks, it seems unlikely that the Hokies will be able to make it to March Madness this year. At 18-11, Virginia Tech would likely have to win both games down the stretch of the season and win multiple games in the ACC Tournament. The Hokies should

have no trouble finishing the regular season strong, with matchups against the suspect Louisville and Clemson. Then, a matchup with one of the lower seeds in the ACC should prove to be a winnable one for their first game in Barclays. However, the road seems likely to end after that, as Virginia Tech will likely match up with North Carolina or Notre Dame in their second game. North Carolina beat the Hokies with offense in their first matchup and then stifled the Hokies’ offense to the tune of a 19.2% three-point shooting night last week. Despite a win over Notre Dame, it seems unlikely that Storm Murphy and Nahiem Alleyne will combine for eight made threes again, and the inside-out duo of Dane Goodwin and Paul Atkinson Jr. will prove too much for the Hokies to handle.

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CT sports staff shares their ACC Tournament bold predictions Our staff’s sports experts give their hottest takes on what will happen in Brooklyn.

COLLEGIATE TIMES SPORTS STAFF

With the ACC Tournament around the corner, our sports writers gave their boldest predictions on what will happen when all the teams face off in Brooklyn.

Ridge Wilson: Virginia Tech will make the semifinals but lose to UNC again This is all dependent on if Virginia Tech finishes seventh in the ACC standings. They have very little chance to crack the top six, and finishing eighth would be the worst-case scenario because that would mean a potential quarterfinal game against top-seeded Duke. The Hokies are battling with Syracuse, whom they beat head-to-head, for seventh place. A second-round game could net them a matchup with the likes of either Louisville, Pittsburgh or Boston College, whom they could avenge their loss against.

A quarterfinal game as the seventh seed would likely be against second-seeded Notre Dame, whom the Hokies have already beaten this season. The Irish are good, but definitely beatable, and Tech has to win that game if it wants any shot at the NCAA Tournament, assuming it handles the rest of its business beforehand. Awaiting it in the semifinals will be North Carolina, who will overtake slumping Miami for the third seed. However, Tech’s ACC Tournament run would end for a third straight year against UNC, a bad matchup for the Hokies with their size and physicality.

Ashlyn O’Neill: Duke is a sure lock for the ACC title … or is it?

It would be foolish to assume that the 2022 ACC tournament will be anything short of fantastic, as the league has several teams within two games of the conference lead. That being said, it’s easy to assume Duke will coast to a win on the backs of AJ Griffin and Paolo Banchero, but I

Storm Murphy (5) drives past Duke’s Jeremy Roach (3), Dec. 22, 2021.

think that there will be an unlikely upset going against the Blue Devils in this tourney. By whom it’s nearly impossible to say, but don’t count out Boston College to make a deep run in this year’s tourney.

The Eagles showed just how dangerous they can be in a 99–95 overtime loss to second place Notre Dame last week. The Eagles shot over 55% from the floor and around 43% from deep in a game they honestly should have won, if not for foul trouble causing their big men to miss the end of regulation and overtime. Boston College is a young, headstrong team with nothing to lose and shooters all over the court. That is the type of team that can make a run in March, similar to how Georgia Tech caught fire and won the ACC tourney last year.

First things first: obviously the Blue Devils have looked like the best team in the ACC all year. They’ve been at a different level of play and their offensive production is nothing short of spectacular. However, the Blue Devils haven’t been without their moments of mortality.

Whether it be close calls against Wake Forest and UVA the past couple weeks, or three of their four losses coming against mid-tier competition, some would say Duke has shown real weaknesses this year.

However, in Brooklyn, the Blue Devils will prove their doubters wrong and slice through the rest of the ACC. There is no better trio in the conference than that of Paolo Banchero, Mark Williams and Wendell Moore Jr., and they’ll make that clear in Barclays.

Devin Shepard: Duke will win every game by 10-plus points and will look ready to win a title

Claire Castagno: Wake Forest will make the finals Virginia Tech played Wake Forest in December for its ACC opener, and it was a wake-up call for the Hokies as they lost 80–61 at home. Wake Forest currently sits in fifth place in the ACC standings behind Miami, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Duke with a record of 12–7.

The Demon Deacons are 1–4 against Quad 1 teams and 4–4 against Quad 2 teams. They have bad losses to teams like Louisville and Clemson, but only lost to Duke 74–76 and Miami 72–76.

Postseason play is a whole different ball game, and Wake has the talent to beat good teams. Guard Alondes Williams is averaging 19.4 points a game this season from 51.9% field goal shooting. Williams is backed up by forward Jake LaRavia, who is averaging 15.1 points per game off 56.7% field goal shooting. The Demon Deacons are currently ranked 42 in the NET Rankings, one spot behind the Hokies. If Wake Forest can play at its best throughout the tournament, a finals appearance should not be very surprising.

ETHAN CANDELARIO / COLLEGIATE TIMES

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Hokies aim for at-large March Madness bid Who should you be watching out for in the ACC Tournament this year?

ASHLYN O’NEILL sports staff writer

As we reach the conclusion of another stellar season of ACC basketball, all eyes turn to the men’s tournament in Brooklyn, New York. After COVID-19 kept the tournament from being held in Brooklyn last year, the tournament’s one-year hiatus away from the home of the NBA’s Nets has ended.

This season has been full of surprises from top to bottom. Notre Dame came out of nowhere to hold the second spot in the conference standings at 14–4 in league play, Virginia Tech struggled early after having high expectations and Wake Forest shocked many by reaching the 20-win mark while not being expected to be competitive this year.

One thing that has remained the same is the dominance of Duke. As expected, the Blue Devils are sitting atop the ACC standings with a 15–3 record against ACC foes, one game above the Fighting Irish. Duke has an extra

incentive to win the tournament this year as it would mean sending coach Mike Krzyzewski out with one more accolade to go along with his already-Hall-of-Fame-worthy resume.

Unfortunately, the ACC has been pretty absent this past season in the national rankings, with Duke being the only ACC team to be in the top 25 consistently week after week. Although there are five teams in the conference with 20 or more wins on their records, there still has been little love from the AP Poll.

The tournament this year has seemingly bigger stakes than ever since many teams, the Hokies included, will be searching for those statement wins to build up their resumes for a possible at-large bid.

The ACC is looking like it will be a four- or five-bid conference, but usually when you see a conference with so many teams looking to get at-large bids, more than one of them is ranked in the top 25.

For Virginia Tech, winning the tournament looks to be the only way it will be dancing in March, but if we’ve learned anything about

college basketball and the month of March, it’s that anything is possible for any team at any moment. Maybe it’s the Hokies, maybe it’s Boston College or Syracuse, or maybe it’s the favorites Duke and Notre Dame gunning for the conference tournament title.

There’s no true way to know until the teams take the court, so as the regular season comes to a close, get ready for some madness in March. Be sure to catch all the action on the ACC Network and ESPN from March 8–12, and see who will wear the crown atop the ACC and punch their ticket to move one step closer to a March Madness title.

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Women’s March Madness preview: How will Virginia Tech fare?

Sports staff writer Colby Talley breaks down the top contenders.

COLBY TALLEY sports staff writer

As March looms near, the w o m e n’s college basketball season is entering its final stretch and tournament bids are being solidified.

L et’s ta ke a look at some of the most exciting teams to keep an eye on, here and abroad.

The Home Team … or not?

No. 23 Virginia Tech The Hokies have

proven themselves to be somewhat of a dark horse contender with ranked wins over Duke, Georgia Tech and North Carolina. They’re currently pegged as a sixth seed team by ESPN Bracketology, but they could work their way to a fourth seed bid with a strong finish to the regular season and a deep run in the ACC tournament.

With that fourth seed, the Hok ies would potent ia l ly host their first two games of t he NCA A tou r na ment, meaning they would have a r a re home adva nt age which could help propel them to the second we ekend. However, it will be easier said than done as they host No. 3 NC State on Sunday.

Player to Watch: C Elizabeth Kitley 17.7 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 2.6 BPG, 53.3 FG% (leads the ACC)

The Top Seeds

No. 1 South Carolina The 2017 national champion is slated to be the top overall seed in this year’s tournament, and not without reason. The Gamecocks have bested all comers this season, with the exception of Missouri, who came away with a one-point upset back in December.

The situation is clear: it will be the Gamecocks versus the field. Furthermore, considering the Gamecocks have defeated every ranked opponent on their schedule, there may not be a team in the field that can keep up.

Player to Watch: F Aliyah Boston 16.8 PPG, 11.9 APG, 2.7 BPG, 54.2 FG% (leads the SEC)

No. 2 Stanford The defending national champion is slated to return to the tournament as a first seed once again. While the squad certainly has the talent to make a repeat run, there are some cracks in its armor.

The Cardinal have only gone 4–3 against ranked teams this season, including a close loss to the aforementioned Gamecocks. Furthermore, No. 11 Texas, one of the ranked teams that beat the Cardinal earlier in the season, is currently slated to be the second seed in the same quadrant of the bracket.

If the Cardinal want a repeat, then they will have to start playing up to competition more consistently.

Player to Watch: G Haley Jones 12.5 PPG, 7.9 APG, 3.6 APG, 42.6 FG% continued on page 7

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continued from page 6

No. 3 NC State The Wolfpack have been on the cusp of making a deep tournament run in the past five years. Three Sweet Sixteen finishes in the past four seasons – with the canceled 2020 tournament sandwiched between them – shows how the team has the potential to make a run but needs to get over their third-round hump.

With No. 6 Michigan and No. 20 Oklahoma in their quadrant of the bracket, the Wolfpack will have their work cut out for them.

Player to Watch: C Elissa Cunane 13.1 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 40.9 3PT% No. 4 Louisville Staying in the ACC, the Cardinals – not to be confused with the Cardinal of Stanford – have come even closer to making a championship run than the

Wolfpack. With two Elite Eight finishes and a Final Four appearance in the past four seasons, the Cardinals have a similar hump to overcome, albeit later in the tournament.

While the Cardinals have proven themselves against tough opponents – going 7–3 against ranked teams – they could potentially face No. 5 Baylor, No. 10 Indiana or No. 12 Arizona in their quadrant. Needless to say, the Cardinals’ have a lot to face ahead of them.

Player to Watch: F Emily Engstler 11.2 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 2.5 SPG (Leads the ACC)

Familiar Faces in the Field

No. 7 UConn With how dominant the Huskies have been in the past decade – winning four consecutive championships in the 2010s – seeing them as projected third seed seems uncanny.

The team is still great, but an 0–2 record against teams with first seeds is reason for concern. Furthermore, South Carolina, one of the teams that defeated UConn, is the first seed in their quadrant of the bracket. Their last matchup in the regular season ended with a convincing 73–57 Gamecock victory.

The Huskies can go on one of their patented deep runs, but the road to get there will be far bumpier this time around.

Player to Watch: G Paige Bueckers 19.3 PPG, 5.4 APG, 5.0 RPG Missed significant time with injury this year, will be primary option down the stretch

finishes in the past few seasons have shown just how vulnerable one women’s college basketball’s premier program has become as of late. The squad has taken bad losses to South Carolina, Stanford and Florida, who throttled them in an 84–59 stunner.

It may not seem likely on paper, but it’s important to remember this is still Tennessee. If they can find their groove, then this historic program can beat anyone.

Player to Watch: G Jordan Horston 16.2 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 4.0 APG

No. 16 Tennessee The Volunteers are still a regular fixture in the tournament, but their days of dominating the field are well behind them.

A flurry of first- and second-round

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A method to the madness: Funniest ways to set up your bracket

For those who don’t know the first thing about drafting a March Madness bracket, look no further than this satirical guide.

SPENCER DAVIDSON & ERICA KULBACK lifestyles staff writers

Editor’s note: This piece was written with satirical intent.

With the NCAA March Mad ness tou r na ment coming up, it’s time to break out the bracke t o l o g y.

Ever yone has a method to their madness, whether it be statistical analysis, a hometown bias or focusing on player development over a sea son. O ne Hok ie i n

particular was happy to share with us his technique for making his March Madness bracket.

“I look for ability from range, quality wins, are they streaky, size (are they well rounded), recent performances, location (are they far from home?) and other things,” said Kolbjorn Bergstrom, a junior majoring in sports media and analytics.

It seems li ke Bergstrom knows what he’s d o i n g.

We’r e no b a s ke t b a l l experts, but here is what we do know: Basketball is simple.

T h e r e ’s some d r i b b l i n g, some shooting, then one team wins and one team loses. That’s pretty much all there is to it. There are turnovers, timeouts, fouls and some other stuff, but those are not important aspects of the game.

Bergst rom a lso walked us through his bracket strategy

for the later end of the tournament.

“My bracket strategy is mostly gauging the value of the qualities I stated earlier and accounting for a decent amount of upsets,” Bergstrom said. “Beyond that, I will try to have either a final four or elite eight in mind and then determine how I will end up there, but that does not affect too many of my decisions.”

According to Daniel Wilco of the NCAA, the odds of picking all 63 games perfectly are 1 in 9.2 quintillion, so we’re throwing out the rulebook completely and adding in a little bit of madness to come up with our bracket for this year.

For those who don’t know where to start, we have come to the consensus that there are four qualities to look for when making this year’s bracket: team colors, home city, school mascot and school name. With the top 16 seeds released by the NCAA, placing them into a condensed Sweet 16 bracket with these criteria is certain to give you winning results.

Sweet 16 matchups: 1. Arizona vs. Providence Kansas vs. Louisville 2. Texas vs. Texas Tech

Wisconsin vs. Illinois 3. Auburn vs. Duke UCLA vs. Baylor 4. Gonzaga vs. Villanova Purdue vs. Tennessee Team Colors In the team colors shootout, we have Arizona versus Providence, with Arizona’s red, white and blue going up against Providence’s black and white. It’s always cool to be patriotic, but it’s even cooler to wear colors that go with everything and add a brooding sense of mystery to the team. Providence wins this one.

In Kansas versus Louisville, both hail from the Midwest, but Louisville sports the colors red and white while Kansas sports blue and white. While red is more eye-grabbing, it is usually only integrated into the player numbers of the Louisville jersey, while Kansas’s home jersey is an eye-popping blue. Due to this fact, Kansas wins this one. Between Kansas and Providence, however, Providence has to take the cake with their cool black and white jerseys. continued on page 8

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disappointing basketball season.

Home City The first team against each other in the battle for home city supremacy is Texas versus Texas Tech. Austin, home of the University of Texas, is a rapidly developing city, attracting Tesla and other Silicon Valley players in recent years. Lubbock, where Texas Tech lies, is known for its oil boom in the 19th century. Considering that the Hokies are also known for their home city being inconveniently located from nothing but the countryside for an hour in any direction, we’re handing this one to Texas Tech in solidarity.

The next lineup is a little bizarre. The University of Wisconsin-Madison finds itself on an isthmus between two lakes, an uncommon geographic landmass.

It’s certainly a strange place to put a university. In contrast, The University of Illinois flagship campus is located hours from Chicago, or anywhere for that matter. Because of the uniqueness of Wisconsin’s home city, it wins between the two. Ultimately, Wisconsin wins against Texas Tech because we all know as Blacksburg residents that being in the middle of nowhere leads to a

Mascots From classic animals to mythical creatures, mascots have been around since the dawn of college basketball. The first matchup entails the Auburn Tigers and Duke Blue Devils. We’re not religious people, but there’s no way we’re banking on the Devils to win this one. Between Tony the Tiger, Tigger and the Gucci tiger, all being lovable mascots of their respective brands, it’s safe to say that the Tigers are definitely the way to go.

Next, we have the UCLA Bruins and Baylor Bears. First of all, isn’t a Bruin a bear? I can’t bear the confusion –– let’s go with the Baylor Bears. Now, we have a bear against a tiger. According to BioArk on Youtube, if a Siberian tiger were to face off with a polar bear, the tiger would win if it used the element of surprise, which is a skill that bears lack.

Therefore, Auburn will defeat Baylor.

Funny Team Names There isn’t much debate or competition here. Of the 16 teams previewed, those with the funniest names can be separated into Gonzaga versus Villanova and Purdue versus Tennessee.

In Purdue versus Tennessee, Tennessee has

the clear advantage as all the redundant and silent letters lead to a good laugh. However, between Gonzaga and Villanova, and overall, Gonzaga is the clear winner. The name could be confused with Gorgonzola cheese, and only in Italian will you hear such a name except in the lexicon of NCAA basketball. The university spends around $2 million on its basketball program every year, according to the United States Department of Education. Even though they have a funny name, Gonzaga tends to fare well in the tournament every year, so it’s a safe

bet to say they’ll win here overall.

We hope you take our points into consideration when making your 2022 March Madness Bracket. You might lose the tournament, but at least you’ll have fun while doing it.

@CollegiateTimes

COVID-19 update: Masks optional in counties with lower impact on healthcare systems According to the CDC, 70% of the U.S. population can choose to stop wearing masks.

JANE PARK assistant news editor

On Friday, Feb. 25, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that those living in counties where COVID-19 presents a low or medium threat to hospitals may opt out from wearing masks, according to AP News. More than 70% of Americans live in low- and medium-risk counties.

The CDC published a color-coded map showing the Community Levels — a measure of the impact of COVID-19 on health and healthcare systems — of every U.S. county.

The map showed that Montgomery County’s risk of COVID-19 infections will highly impact healthcare systems in the area.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky stated in Friday’s media telebriefing that the choice to wear a mask is up to the individual.

“What we want to do is make sure our hospitals are OK and people are not coming in with severe disease,” Walensky said. “Anyone can go to the CDC website, find out the volume of disease in their community and make that personal decision (to wear a mask).”

AP News noted that the CDC’s guidelines are not legally binding, meaning that cities and institutions may determine their own requirements.

However, masks are still required on public transportation, inside airports and in bus and train stations.

On Thursday, Feb. 24, Virginia Tech released a statement announcing that as the pandemic reaches its two-year a n n iversa r y, t he un iversit y will “continue to rely on data, science” to make major COVID-19-related decisions, such as whether masks will continue to be required indoors.

“We know that thorough analysis

of accurate information, data, and research can inform difficult decisions,” said Mike Mulhare, assistant v ic e p r e sid e nt fo r e m e rge n cy management. “It has worked very well for Virginia Tech these past two years, and will serve us well in the future should changing infor mation and understanding lead us to alter requirements or recommendations.”

As of Feb. 25, Virginia Tech’s COVID-19 dashboard showed 15 out of 403 tests administered in the last seven days had positive results. There are 21 self-reported active cases among students, of which 42.9% have mild symptoms and 57.1% have moderate symptoms.

As of Feb. 25, the Vi rginia Department of Health’s dashboard showed the state has had 1,636,510 total cases, an increase of 13,825 more cases since the CT’s last update. There were also 520 additional reported deaths

since the last update, leaving the state’s death toll at 18,536.

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