MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Big 12 announced Monday the West Virginia men’s basketball game at Baylor scheduled for 9 p.m. Tuesday was postponed in accordance with the conference’s game interruption guidelines.
The postponement is in response to No. 13 WVU being unable to meet the required COVID-19 thresholds on Monday, as established by the Big 12. WVU will work with the conference and Baylor to reschedule the game.
“Our intent is to get the spread under control as soon as possible for the health and safety of all involved,” WVU athletic director Shane Lyons said. “While this issue has hit many college basketball programs, we have been fortunate to have played 13 games so far this season.”
The Big 12 requires its teams to have a minimum of six scholarship players available in order to play a game. WVU entered the season with 13 players on scholarship, but have lost forwards Oscar Tshiebwe (transferred to Kentucky) and Isaiah Cottrell (torn Achilles tendon). Out of the remaining 11 scholarship players, at least six must have tested positive for the coronavirus or were ruled out due to contact tracing in order for the Mountaineers not to meet the Big 12’s requirements.
This is the first time this season the Mountaineers have had a player(s) test positive for COVID-19. The team did have five players and one staff member test positive in July, which forced team workouts to be paused for two weeks.
WVU head coach Bob Huggins said during a Zoom call on Monday that WVU players were tested as early as Monday morning. By Big 12 rules, they are tested three times weekly.
No determination has been made for any future WVU games at this time. The Mountaineers (9-4, 2-3 Big 12) are scheduled to face TCU at 2 p.m. Saturday at the WVU Coliseum.
