COVID-19 postpones Wichita State’s Wednesday AAC home opener; replacement found
The coronavirus pandemic has once again affected the Wichita State men’s basketball team’s schedule this season.
Wichita State’s conference home opener at Koch Arena, scheduled for Wednesday against East Carolina, has been postponed due to positive COVID-19 cases and the ensuing contact tracing of East Carolina players, the American Athletic Conference announced Monday morning.
A replacement opponent was found the same day, as WSU later announced it had scheduled Newman for a 6 p.m. Wednesday game streamed on ESPN+ with 15% capacity (approximately 1,575 fans) at Koch Arena. WSU will contact season ticket holders who are eligible for seats, based on SASO priority points. The game will give WSU its 26th regular season game, while it will be an exhibition for Newman.
By playing Newman Wednesday, the Shockers will have a tune-up game ahead of a 5 p.m. Saturday showdown at Mississippi (5-1) on ESPNU. The Shockers will return to American play next Wednesday at No. 5 Houston (7-0), the preseason conference favorite.
It is the second time WSU has had to adjust on the fly due to COVID-19 protocols, as positive cases in its own traveling party caused the Shockers to exit the Crossover Classic tournament in South Dakota and cancel the first three scheduled games of their season.
According to the AAC’s news release, there will be every attempt to reschedule the game before Feb. 21, which is when the Shockers head to Greenville, N.C. to take on the Pirates. If an open date cannot be found, then WSU and ECU would play on back-to-back days — Sunday, Feb. 21 and Monday, Feb. 22 — at Koch Arena.
It was also announced on Monday that WSU sophomore guard Tyson Etienne was named AAC Player of the Week after scoring 25 points in an overtime road win at South Florida last Tuesday. Etienne, the first Shocker to win the award since Erik Stevenson took home the honor on Jan. 6, 2020, also matched his career highs with six rebounds and four assists. It’s the third weekly honor for Etienne this season following honor roll appearances on Dec. 7 and Dec. 14.
This story was originally published December 28, 2020 at 11:56 AM.
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