UConn-Baylor canceled
Baylor coach Kim Mulkey tests positive for COVID-19.
Geno Auriemma knew that when the NCAA decided to move forward with the college basketball season amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it was going to be, as he said Tuesday, “a roller-coaster ride unlike any we’ve ever been on.”
This week has been an example of just that.
Thursday’s highly anticipated matchup between the No. 3
UConn women and No. 6 Baylor has now been canceled after Bears coach Kim Mulkey tested positive for COVID-19, the schools announced Tuesday. Accordingly, Baylor is restricting team activities and the program is undergoing additional COVID-19 testing to determine when the team can return to the court.
Auriemma said it’s unlikely, though not out of the question, that the Huskies find another team to play in place of Baylor.
Mulkey’s situation: After being exposed to a family member with the virus on Dec. 25, Mulkey self-quarantined and did not return to team activities following a holiday break, missing Baylor’s game Saturday at TCU. She had tested negative for the virus three times before rejoining the team Monday, when she finally tested positive. She will now isolate, and if she remains asymptomatic she can rejoin the program Jan. 15.
“While I am disappointed and hate to be away from the program, Baylor women’s basketball is in good hands with our coaches and support staff,” Mulkey said in a statement. “The safety of our student-athletes is paramount
and will take precedence over any basketball activity during this pandemic.”
The Bears are off to an 8-1 start, their sole loss coming against Arkansas. Baylor and UConn are tied 4-4 in the all-time series, with Mulkey’s squad taking last year’s matchup 74-58 in Hartford.
Auriemma did not cast any blame for the situation, noting that as long as people aren’t conducting themselves in clearly reckless manners, even programs that are taking the utmost amount of precautions can still see a COVID-19 case pop up. It’s happened at UConn too, which previously shut down for 10 days when a member of the program tested positive for the virus right before the team’s season opener.
“It’s frustrating for all of us in so many ways,” Auriemma told reporters after the announcement. “Because the minute you start to think, ‘What’s wrong with these people?’ that could be you tomorrow making a phone call to another school saying, ‘Hey look, we can’t come.’
“As much as we all like to think all of us are doing what’s best, in this particular case, there’s no guarantee. All you can do is the best you can do and keep your fingers crossed.”
Will UConn play someone else?: Auriemma joked that there’s a better chance his team plays the local media contingent than find another opponent to play on the road Thursday. There just may be too many logistical hurdles — including ensuring everyone is squared away from a testing standpoint — to overcome with such a short turnaround. ESPN, which was supposed to air the UConn-Baylor game, could also try to make something happen on their end.
Auriemma provided an example. Heand Louisville’s Jeff Walz have tried for weeks to find a slot to play after the schools’ November matchup got scrapped. Anytime they get close to figuring something out, “something comes up.”
“I’m sure there’s somebody out there. I just don’t know if it could ever be put together that quickly,” Auriemma said. “Which is a shame because my players have been really good about practicing These last couple days, they’ve really been ready. Practices have been different because they knew what was coming.”
“The circumstances, the possibilities, are just impossible.”
Assuming UConn does not find another opponent, the Huskies, wholast played Dec. 29 versus then-No. 18 DePaul, are to return to the court Saturday against Providence at home. With a win, Auriemma will tie Pat Summitt at No. 2 with 1,098 career wins.
Another top 10 opponent wiped off the schedule: The cancellation of the Baylor game marks the fourth nonconference game wiped out for UConn (6-0, 5-0 Big East) since the beginning of the season. The first three against Quinnipiac, Mississippi State/ Maine and Louisville were canceled after the positive COVID-19 test delayed the Huskies’ season start by two weeks.
With the cancellation of the Mississippi State, Louisville and Baylor games, that’s now three top-10 matchups scrapped from the Huskies’ nonconference s l ate. UConn’s only nonleague game so far was its 79-23 win against UMass Lowell.
Notes: UConn swept this week’s Big East awards following their first ranked win of the season over DePaul, with junior center Olivia Nelson-Ododa and freshman point guard Paige Bueckers winning conference Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week, respectively. It’s the third such honor for Bueckers, and the first this season for Nelson-Ododa.
UConn and NC State are now tied for third in the Associated Press Top 25 rankings with 680 points each. The Huskies debuted in the NCAA’s first set of NET rankings at No. 2, only behind Stanford. NET rankings replace RPI as an evaluation tool for the NCAA Tournament selection committee to use when determining which teams make the Tournament.