Utah MBB Forced To Pause Activities Due To COVID-19 Positives
Last Friday was not a good day for Utah athletics.
After news broke that the football team was forced to cancel its second game of the season due to not having the minimum number of scholarship players available, Utah athletic director Mark Harlan dropped more bad news.
The Utah men's basketball team has been forced to pause all team-related activities due to a rash number of positive COVID-19 tests on Friday. Multiple positive tests were reported by those in the program.
“Yeah, effective this morning. We got some positives on their daily antigen test,” Harlan said. “We’ll have to confirm those with some PCR tests. But we have paused until we have a better understanding of that. They’re not confirmed tests yet. It’s fair to say it’s a handful.”
Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
It is unknown when the Utes will be able to begin practicing again. But with the 2020-21 college basketball season set to begin on Wednesday, Nov. 25, it's unknown if Utah will be able to play depending on the results of further testing.
Utah, who has yet to release its finalized schedule, was originally set to begin the season at the Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic but the Utes pulled out due to the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging South Dakota.
The Pac-12 released its preseason rankings on Thursday and Utah was picked to finish in eighth place, the same spot they finished in last year.
Junior forward Timmy Allen was the lone Ute to be represented on the preseason all-Pac-12 teams, being chosen to the first team. He was named to the all-Pac-12 second team last year after averaging 17.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
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