Mizzou basketball paused because of COVID-19. LSU game postponed, next game uncertain
The Missouri men’s basketball team won’t be playing against LSU on Saturday as originally scheduled.
Mizzou’s 7:30 p.m. game was postponed because of COVID-19 issues in the Missouri program. A release from the SEC on Friday says there was a combination of positive tests, contact tracing and subsequent quarantining of individuals on MU’s team. Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin announced the Tigers have paused all team activities.
The Tigers next week host Vanderbilt on Tuesday and travel to Texas A&M on Dec. 16. The status of both games will be determined at a later date. A make-up date for the MU vs. LSU game has yet to be determined.
“This continues to be a challenging time across the college basketball landscape, and it is important that we prioritize the health and safety of our student-athletes first and foremost,” Martin said in a statement. “In laying out the schedule, the SEC has allowed for a week at the end of the season for the possibility that games would be canceled, and we look forward to hosting LSU at a later date. Once we can return to competition safely, we will do so.”
LSU will instead travel to Ole Miss to play a game this weekend. The Rebels were supposed to host South Carolina, but COVID-19 within the Gamecocks’ program forced a postponement earlier in the week. LSU and Ole Miss were set to square off on Feb. 17, but that game has been moved up.
It’s the first time this season Missouri has seen its SEC schedule disrupted because of COVID-19. The Tigers had their Prairie View A&M game canceled because of coronavirus issues within the Panthers’ program.
No. 13 Mizzou (7-2, 1-2 SEC) opened its conference schedule with some inconsistency. The Tigers were blown out by Tennessee, played well against Arkansas then had a second half collapse against Mississippi State.
This story was originally published January 8, 2021 at 1:12 PM.