Wichita State men’s basketball team on COVID-19 pause; road games this week postponed
The Wichita State men’s basketball program has been paused this week because of COVID-19 health and safety protocols, according to multiple sources on the team.
The American Athletic Conference announced on Tuesday morning that Wichita State’s road games scheduled for Wednesday at Temple and Sunday at SMU have been postponed, as the Shockers have fallen under the minimum of seven available scholarship players and one coach.
WSU already has one conference game waiting to be rescheduled in a road trip to East Carolina and now the Shockers will have the chance to reschedule the road trips to Temple and SMU if both sides can agree on new dates by the end of the season. The Shockers are 0-4 in conference play with a 9-7 record.
Wichita State has had to deal with COVID-19 health and safety protocols since returning from Christmas break. Dexter Dennis and Morris Udeze missed last Wednesday’s game against Tulane, while Craig Porter and assistant coach Billy Kennedy missed last Sunday’s game against Cincinnati.
WSU coach Isaac Brown has confirmed that all of WSU’s players were vaccinated before the season, but it’s unclear if all — or any — have received their booster shot, which is “full vaccination status” in the eyes of the NCAA COVID-19 Medical Advisory Group.
For players who have tested positive, they must follow updated NCAA guidelines released in January that suggests five days of quarantine after a positive test with isolation ending after five days if there are no symptoms or if symptoms are resolving. They also suggest wearing masks around others for five additional days, while they are permitted to play following five days if they can produce a negative PCR or antigen test.
As for close contacts, those not considered fully vaccinated should quarantine for five days followed by wearing a mask for five additional days. They can participate in games and practices without a mask following the initial five days if they produce a negative PCR or antigen test.
Close contacts who are fully vaccinated do not need to quarantine, but are asked to wear a mask for 10 days when not actively training.
If WSU was shut down on Monday, players currently out could potentially return to practice on Saturday if they test negative. But the period could take as long as 10 days, which would also affect a Jan. 26 home game against Central Florida.
This story was originally published January 18, 2022 at 10:01 AM.
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