NC State postpones men’s basketball game as school reports athletics COVID cluster
N.C. State’s athletics department is dealing with a cluster of COVID-19 cases and the Wolfpack’s men’s basketball game with Georgia Tech has been postponed.
The school on Wednesday announced the presence of the cluster, which according to the state health officials indicates five or more cases deemed close proximity or location.
In a news release, the school offered no details as to which of its athletic teams were affected but said safety measures are in place aimed at mitigating the virus’ further spread.
Later Thursday, the ACC announced Saturday’s men’s basketball game with Georgia Tech is postponed due to a positive test, subsequent quarantining and contact tracing within the N.C. State program.
Federal and state health officials have defined close contact as anyone who has been within 6 feet of an infected person for more than 15 minutes when either person has not been wearing a face covering.
“All individuals who test positive as part of this cluster are being isolated, and close contacts quarantined,” an N.C. State news release stated. “Contact tracing has been initiated with direct communication to anyone known to have been in close contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19.”
Women’s basketball team’s postponed games
The school’s women’s basketball team has had their seasons interrupted by positive coronavirus cases already this season.
The Wolfpack women’s team, 10-0 and ranked No. 3 nationally, hasn’t played since beating Boston College, 76-57, at Reynolds Coliseum on Jan. 3. Two days later, the ACC announced a positive test had been discovered in the Wolfpack program and that its next two games would be postponed.
Since then, two more N.C. State women’s games have been postponed, including a top-5 showdown at No. 2 Louisville that had been scheduled for this Sunday. N.C State is scheduled to play Florida State on Jan. 21, but that game is in jeopardy due to active COVID-19 issues in both programs. The Wolfpack’s next scheduled game after that is Jan. 24 against Virginia Tech.
N.C. State is one of four ACC women’s basketball programs currently unable to play games due to COVID-19 issues in their programs. The others are Virginia, Florida State and Syracuse. On Thursday, Virginia announced it was ending its season due to a combination of COVID-19 cases and other injuries that have depleted the roster.
“As difficult as it is to end our season in this manner, it is a necessary one,” Virginia head coach Tina Thompson said in a statement. “The health and safety of our student-athletes will always be the number one priority. We will continue to focus on their overall well-being and prepare to resume competition in the fall.”
Last month, Duke’s women’s basketball players decided to opt-out for the remainder of the season due to positive cases within their program. The Blue Devils were the first basketball team from a Power 5 conference to end the season early.
Wolfpack men’s basketball has dealt with coronavirus already
N.C. State’s men’s basketball team paused in December due to a positive test. Nonconference games with Connecticut, Michigan and Florida Atlantic were canceled. A game with William and Mary, plus an ACC game with Louisville, were also not played but COVID-19 issues at those schools played a role in those decisions.
The team resumed play on Dec. 17 and played their schedule until Thursday without any other COVID-19 issues.
The Wolfpack lost 105-73 at Florida State on Wednesday night. N.C. State’s next men’s basketball game is scheduled to be at Virginia on Jan. 20.
Florida State is still scheduled to play North Carolina on Saturday in Tallahassee, Florida.
Meanwhile, East Carolina announced Thursday it is pausing team activities for its men’s basketball program after multiple positive COVID-19 cases were discovered. ECU’s next two games, Saturday against Temple and Wednesday at South Florida, are postponed.
This story was originally published January 14, 2021 at 5:00 PM with the headline "NC State postpones men’s basketball game as school reports athletics COVID cluster."