COVID-19 has taken out another basketball game for Texas.
The Longhorns were scheduled to take on Kentucky in the Big 12/SEC challenge on Saturday night. However, the Wildcats announced on Friday morning that they were shutting down their men’s basketball program for 48 hours due to coronavirus complications.
Since it’s not a conference matchup, the game has been canceled and will not be made up. This will be the second matchup this season Texas will not be able to reschedule, having to cancel Dec. 29’s game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The Wildcats were 5-10 on the season and struggling through SEC play, losing four out of their last five games. Coach John Calipari’s squad has been struggling offensively and averaging under 70.0 points per game in conference play.
Here is the statement Kentucky released on Friday:
The Kentucky men’s basketball program has been put on a 48-hour pause, including the cancelation of Saturday’s game vs. Texas, due to a combination of positive testing, contact tracing and subsequent quarantining of individuals in the program. The decision is consistent with Southeastern Conference COVID-19 and UK Athletics COVID-19 managment requirements.
Our game vs. @TexasMBB set for tomorrow has been canceled. The health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches and staff remains our No. 1 priority.
➡️ https://t.co/JmkjNt9k2c pic.twitter.com/er9fO5OieP
— Kentucky Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) January 29, 2021
Two other conference games yet have to been rescheduled for the Longhorns. Both road games against Baylor and TCU need to be made up to get all 18 Big 12 games in.
Texas will return to the court on Tuesday against No. 2 Baylor at home. The Bears remain the only undefeated team left in the conference.
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