LSU Basketball Pulls Out of Hoopsgiving Game vs USF Due to COVID-19 Contact Tracing

LSU basketball has pulled out of its Holiday Hoopsgiving game scheduled with USF due to COVID-19 contact tracing.

The news was first reported by Stadium's Jeff Goodman and the event is now looking for a replacement for the Tigers' scheduled game against the Bulls. A source told LSUCountry that the Tigers' game with UNO scheduled for Dec. 16 is not expected to be affected by the current contact tracing issues.

The Tigers have not had to pause team activities and shut down practice this week. LSU announced on Wednesday morning the team added a home game with Sam Houston State on Dec. 14 to replace the cancelled game in Atlanta. No fans will be permitted to attend Monday's game, which will be broadcast on SEC Network.

This is the first time the LSU basketball season has been impacted by the coronavirus after spending most of the offseason being extremely diligent in bringing its players back in groups and working out in small bunches. This is a situation that every team across college basketball braced for because of the indoor nature and close contact of the sport.

The fear is that a potential shut down would affect multiple games on a basketball team's schedule but that doesn't seem to be the case with LSU at the moment. The situation is very fluid but the source said that the Tigers' home matchup with the Privateers on Dec. 16 is currently not expected to be affected.

It's not known how many people within the LSU program are quarantining because of contact tracing. SEC guidelines originally followed the CDC requirements that a player must quarantine for 14 days after exposure to COVID-19.

However, the CDC recently shortened its mandatory quarantine time for contact tracing from 14 days to as little as seven days. H igh-risk, asymptomatic contacts can now return to activities after 10 days or leave quarantine after the seventh day with a negative test.

That updated timeline would make it possible for LSU to play its game against UNO on Dec. 16 after its most recent battle with Louisiana Tech on Dec. 6. LSU has officially moved to the new protocol according to a report from Sports Illustrated national writer Ross Dellenger though not all SEC programs have adopted the new protocol at this time.

So LSU basketball seems to have dodged a big bullet as a one game cancellation likely won't hurt the team in the long run. This could be a lingering theme throughout the 2020 season because of the close, indoor nature of college basketball.