Several college basketball games and events, including the Justin Reed Ole Miss Classic, have been canceled.
College basketball's opening night will be missing its marquee game due to Baylor withdrawing from the Empire Classic, according to CBS Sports's Jon Rothstein.
The No. 2 ranked Bears were scheduled to play No. 18 Arizona State on Wednesday at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. ESPN reported Monday morning that Arizona State had pulled out from the Empire Classic following Baylor coach Scott Drew testing positive for COVID-19 on Friday.
Drew announced his positive test on Sunday and said his team still planned to play its season opener against Arizona State. The coach said everyone else in the program tested negative on Friday and Sunday and would be tested again early this week.
The Empire Classic was scheduled as a four-team event that included Baylor, Arizona State, No. 3 Villanova and Boston College. Rothstein reports that a fourth unknown team will possibly replace Baylor, and the other three programs will remain in the event.
Florida also withdrew from a separate event at Mohegan Sun on Sunday after members of its program tested positive for COVID-19. The Gators' highly-anticipated game against No. 4 Virginia on Friday was canceled, as well as their matchup against UMass-Lowell on Wednesday at Mohegan Sun.
Other games and events, including the Justin Reed Ole Miss Classic, have been canceled this week. This list will be updated as game schedules change.
Justin Reed Ole Miss Classic: The event has been canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing within Ole Miss' program. In addition to the Rebels, it was set to include Arkansas State, Central Arkansas and Jackson State.
SEC Games:
- Florida @ UMass-Lowell: The Nov. 25 game has been canceled due to COVID-19 cases and contact tracing protocols within the Gators' program. The Gators have paused basketball activities at this time.
- Florida vs. Virginia: The Nov. 27 game was also canceled.
- Ole Miss vs. Memphis: The Dec. 5 game has been canceled due to COVID-19 issues within the Rebels' program.