Illinois' 2nd opponent, Wright State, opts out of Thursday's basketball game because of COVID-19 cases
CHICAGO — The Illinois men’s basketball team already has encountered COVID-19 issues less than a week before its season opener.
Wright State, the Illini’s second opponent in a multiteam event next week at the State Farm Center in Champaign, has opted out of Thursday’s game because of positive tests. The Raiders do not have enough athletes to compete with the amount of individuals who tested positive and those quarantining because of contact tracing as well as players with unrelated injuries.
Illinois, ranked No. 8 in the Associated Press preseason poll, is seeking a replacement opponent, according to a team release Friday.
The Illini open their season Wednesday against North Carolina A&T in Champaign and are scheduled to play host to Ohio on Friday.
“As we have seen this summer and fall with professional sports and college football, disruption is likely while competing in a pandemic,” Wright State athletic director Bob Grant said in a statement. “We must continue to hold the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches and staff as our top priority as we navigate through this current athletic landscape.”
Loyola and DePaul announced this week they were delaying the starts to their seasons because of COVID-19 outbreaks. The Ramblers announced Monday that they paused team activities after positive tests among team personnel. The Blue Demons on Thursday called off their first three games because of positive tests.
Meanwhile, the Missouri Valley announced Friday a new scheduling format to try to reduce the spread of COVID-19 while still competing in an 18-game conference slate.
Most MVC teams will face each another in a two-game series on back-to-back days at the same site. Each team will play four road series and four home series. Teams will face their designated “travel partner” in a single-game, home-and-home series with all conference play beginning after Dec. 25.
The conference’s presidents council also agreed to using Kinexon SafeZone technology to help with contact tracing in men’s and women’s basketball. The technology uses “lightweight, wearable devices, called SafeTags,” which calculate proximity between individuals by distance and length of time.
Players, coaches, select staff and officials will use the devices during all conference basketball games.
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