Marquee matchup Gonzaga-Baylor canceled by virus
Coaches Mark Few of Gonzaga and Scott Drew of Baylor scheduled Saturday’s game for all the right seasons.
They wanted their teams to have another early-season test and play in front of a national TV audience. The game on CBS between the nation’s top two college basketball teams figured to draw excellent ratings.
For now, No. 1 vs. No. 2 is off. Less than 90 minutes before tip-off, the teams announced the postponement because of two positive COVID-19 tests in the top-ranked Bulldogs program.
In a joint statement, they said one player and one nonplayer in the Gonzaga travel party tested positive. The unnamed player didn’t play Wednesday against
No. 11 West Virginia.
“We’re disappointed to not be able to play one of the most anticipated games of the season, but we are following the advice of public health officials,” the coaches said. “When we decided to play during a pandemic, our priorities were protecting the health and safety of student-athletes and following public health guidelines, and we’re proud of how both programs have held true to those promises.
“There are much greater issues in this world than not being able to play a basketball game, so we’re going to continue praying for everyone who has been affected by this pandemic.”
The teams said they consulted with the Indiana
State Health Commissioner, the Marion County Public Health Director and both team physicians before making the decision. The coaches hope to reschedule the game though there were no details about when or where.
Gonzaga and Baylor arrived in Indianapolis this week for the Jimmy V Classic. The Bulldogs (3-0) beat the Mountaineers 87-82. Baylor (3-0) pulled away late to defeat No. 5 Illinois 82-69 on Wednesday.
Both teams spent the next three nights in Indy, preparing for a game that could have taken place last March — if COVID hadn’t forced the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament — or could happen again this March in Indy.
“Scott and I talked about this a lot this past summer,” Few said Wednesday. “We thought this was the right thing to do. We both knew we would have highly rated teams and we knew we had to find a place and time to play it. To have it here in Indianapolis, the home of the Final Four makes it special. They [the Bears] are good, really, really good. They were really good last year and now they’re older and they’re hungrier. They’re March ready already in November.”
A No. 7 Kansas 65, North Dakota State 61: Tyon Grant-Foster drove for the go-ahead basket with just over a minute to go, then swatted away Sam Griesel’s layup with 10 seconds left, helping the host Jayhawks (4-1) escape with a victory over the Bison (0-4).