Another game postponed as COVID issues plague Gamecock men’s basketball
For the seventh time in just over a month, South Carolina men’s basketball won’t be able to play a scheduled game due to issues with COVID-19.
The Gamecocks’ matchup with Tennessee this upcoming Tuesday has been postponed because of positive coronavirus tests and subsequent contact tracing, the SEC announced Saturday night. No makeup date was announced.
The conference’s announcement comes just a few days after USC had to postpone Saturday’s game against Ole Miss due to COVID-19.
In the past month, the Gamecocks have played just two games and in both cases they were short-handed, defeating both Florida A&M on Jan. 2 and Texas A&M on Wednesday night after pausing several weeks due to positive COVID-19 tests and quarantines.
The Gamecocks first paused activities after a Dec. 5 road game at Houston. Both the Cougars and the Gamecocks announced positive COVID-19 tests within their respective programs three days after that contest.
Over the next month, USC postponed or canceled five straight games. It had appeared that Frank Martin’s team was on the mend and trending in a positive direction. But in the middle of Martin’s “Carolina Calls” radio show Thursday night, the team announced more positive tests within the program.
“That information was reinforced about 10-15 minutes ago while we were on the air, and the decision was made that this game has to be postponed,” Martin announced late in Thursday’s radio show. “So away we go again. I don’t even know what to say to our players anymore. I’ve run out of words to keep their spirits in the right place and their enthusiasm for competing in the right place.”
This story was originally published January 9, 2021 at 8:36 PM.
