The Latest: Charleston Southern pauses men's basketball
The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:
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Charleston Southern has paused its men’s basketball program and postponed its next two games, including a Saturday trip to No. 10 Duke due to a positive COVID-19 test.
The school said Wednesday that a non-player tested positive and was immediately isolated.
Charleston Southern is going through testing protocols and contact tracing in accordance with NCAA, Big South, Charleston Southern and local health guidelines.
The Buccaneers also postponed going to North Carolina Central on Tuesday.
Charleston Southern coach Barclay Radebaugh said while the team was disappointed at missing out on games, the safety of players and staffers was the priority.
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UConn has postponed a second men’s basketball game as it continues to deal with a player’s positive coronavirus test.
The Big East Conference announced the Huskies will not travel to face Georgetown on Sunday. Georgetown now will host St. John’s on Sunday instead of UConn.
The Huskies had already had postponed its planned Big East opener against St. John’s on Friday in Storrs after suspending team activities on Sunday.
UConn (3-0), which is returning to the Big East after seven years in the American Athletic Conference, is now scheduled to open conference play on Thursday, Dec. 17, at Providence.
This is the second coronavirus-related shutdown for the Huskies. They spent 14 days on pause in November after a positive coronavirus test result.
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Indiana and Purdue have canceled Saturday’s football game because of an increase in COVID-19 cases at each school.
It’s the first time since 1919 that the annual in-state rivalry will not be played.
Both teams canceled practices Tuesday, pausing all team activities. On Wednesday, Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson and Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski mutually agreed to cancel the game.
“We’re certainly disappointed that we had to cancel the Old Oaken Bucket game,” they said in a joint statement, referring to the trophy that goes to the winner. “We both understand the history and tradition of one of the best rivalries in college football, but the safety and well-being of our student-athletes, coaches and staff is our primary priority. We will continue to monitor the situation on both campuses and listen to the advice of our medical professionals.”
Indiana will keep the trophy for another year after winning last year’s game in overtime. The Hoosiers (6-1) had already clinched the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten East. Purdue (2-4) has lost four in a row.
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Andrea Lee has withdrawn from the U.S. Women’s Open after testing positive for the coronavirus.
Lee tested negative in a pre-arrival test by the USGA last week in Dallas while playing an LPGA Tour event. She traveled to Houston and tested positive, with mild symptoms.
The U.S. Women’s Open, the final golf major of the year, starts Thursday. Lee, who is eligible for next week’s CME Group Tour Championship, was replaced by Ayaka Watanabe of Japan.
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Marshall says Friday’s regular-season football finale against Charlotte has been canceled due to injuries and a lack of available Thundering Herd players at key positions, which it attributed to COVID-19 issues.
“Due to the developments this week, myself and our medical team felt that it was unsafe to put the team on the field Friday evening,” Marshall athletic director Mike Hamrick said in a statement.
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Butler has postponed Monday’s men’s basketball game against St. John’s and will now open its Big East season on Dec. 16 at No. 9 Villanova.
The Bulldogs (1-0) haven’t played since Nov. 25 after a Tier 1 member of the program tested positive for COVID-19. Anyone deemed a close contact to that person was instructed to quarantine for 14 days.
School officials announced the next day that all team activities had been paused.
Butler already had postponed games against Eastern Illinois, Northern Kentucky and Kansas State.
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Washington has paused football activities after a rise in positive COVID-19 cases within the Huskies' program, putting in doubt the fate of its game this Saturday against Oregon.
Washington did not reveal the number of cases but said it would not practice Wednesday while undergoing additional PCR testing.
The school said it would announce the status of the Oregon game when more information becomes available. Should the game be played, the winner of the Washington-Oregon matchup will be Pac-12 North champions and play in the conference title game on Dec. 18.
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North Carolina State has paused men’s basketball activities amid positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing.
The school announced the move Wednesday. That comes after the Wolfpack had to cancel a “Bubbleville” game against Connecticut in the Huskies’ home state last weekend as well as postpone Tuesday’s trip to Michigan for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Because of the pause, N.C. State’s scheduled game against Florida Atlantic this weekend won’t be played. The schedule beyond that game is unclear.
At the time of the UConn cancellation, N.C. State said all program members had tested negative before traveling to Connecticut to face Massachusetts-Lowell and again after their arrival. But a subsequent test came back positive the day before the matchup with the Huskies.
N.C. State’s announcement says there have been two members of the traveling party who have tested positive.
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The Atlantic Coast Conference says it will allow limited fans to attend its football championship game between No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 4 Clemson on Dec. 19.
The state of North Carolina previously issued public-gathering restrictions for outdoor venues because of the coronavirus pandemic, allowing schools to fill 7% of their stadium capacity for fans. Following that guidance, the ACC said Wednesday that capacity would be set at 5,240 for Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
The league says fans and staff must wear masks in the stadium and follow social-distancing markers displayed throughout the stadium.
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The Green Bay Packers will limit attendance at Lambeau Field games to team employees and their families for the remainder of the regular season.
The team says the decision is based on a continued high rate of coronavirus activity in Brown County and many areas of the state. The team is also concerned rates may spike with the holiday season approaching.
Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy says “the health and safety of our community, players and fans is our top priority.”
WLUK-TV has reported that the Packers allowed a limited group of about 500 employees and their families during their last two home games on Nov. 29 and last Sunday.
The Packers have two regular season home games remaining. They face the Carolina Panthers on Dec. 19 and the Tennessee Titans on Dec. 27.
The team says an approach to any potential home playoff games will be decided at a later date.
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