Phil Murphy today was both the governor and the state’s leading Rutgers fan.

Attired in a Rutgers University jacket, Murphy interspersed his COVID briefing with constant updates of the NCAA tournament women’s basketball game between the Scarlet Knights and BYU. He previously lamented the defeat of the men’s team Sunday night to Houston.

“Last night was hard, but no one should hang their head,” Murphy said about the men’s team blowing a lead and losing in the last minute.

At the start of his briefing in early afternoon, the Rutgers’ women were up by six points. But they, too, eventually lost the lead and the game, despite the governor asking Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli to say some prayers.

Many people are sports fans and there is particular interest in “March Madness,” – perhaps because many people fill out brackets. At the same time, this was a first-round game, not the tournament final.

And given the fact COVID is still killing people and putting others in the hospital, some watching may have thought Murphy was overdoing it a bit with the constant updates.

Moving to the sport of politics, the governor was asked again about what you know is going to be a Republican campaign point this fall – nursing home deaths.

Murphy has given the same answer a few times and he repeated it today. Here it is:

The state was “clobbered” by the arrival of the virus.

Also, the nursing homes were where people lived. So if they no longer needed hospitalization, where else would they go?

Moreover, the state gave explicit instructions, if not orders, to physically separate COVID patients from the rest of the population. That meant separate wings, separate floors and separate staff.

He said the problem was that some operators didn’t follow the rules.

That’s what the governor said before; that’s what he said today and you figure that’s what he will say as the campaign moves along.

Regarding elections, Murphy also confirmed that the June 8 primary will be a “traditional” election, if you will, with in-person voting. The governor hinted at this move a few weeks ago when he said the school election, which a small number of districts hold in April, and the non-partisan May municipal elections will be in-person.

He acknowledged that COVID numbers have ticked up, but said they are holding steady.

The governor also said vaccine administration continues to go well, but that the state needs more dosages.

At any rate, Murphy said such things as mask-wearing and responsible social distancing should continue.

He said the vaccine “does not make you bulletproof.”