USD POSTPONES ITS HOME OPENER
USD’s home opener men’s basketball game against Cal State Fullerton was postponed Friday because of COVID-19 issues.
USD Athletic Director Bill McGillis said there was a delay in getting confirmation of one test result. He would not say which team was involved in the issue.
The game was postponed in the late afternoon. By evening, the test had come back negative.
“We now have the all clear and may play l ater this weekend,” said McGillis.
From Major League Baseball, the NBA, NFL, college football and college basketball, the sports world has been faced challenges in trying to play amid the virus.
Just f ive days before USD’s season was set to open last month, the Toreros paused the program for two weeks when an unidentified player tested positive for COVID-19.
Cal State Fullerton had to deal with a positive test on the same day as USD and also paused its program for two weeks.
The USD player who tested positive stayed in isolation while the rest of the team was quarantined.
During the 14-day stretch, the players’ activity was restricted to working out at home. The first contests of the season were canceled and two others postponed.
USD finally opened the season on Wednesday, losing 83-56 to UCLA at Pauley Pavilion.
McGillis said that because of the virus, which has seen record national positive tests in December, the 2020-21 season likely will have numerous altered schedules.
“I don’t expect that to change any time soon,” McGillis said. “One of the great challenges for coaches this season is keeping your team on an even keel. You’ve got to stay nimble. You’ve got to stay ready to go.
“You’ve got to be adaptable as an administration and as a coaching staff. I think our team is well suited to do that.”
The three referees who were scheduled to work Friday’s game against Cal State Fullerton had already arrived at Jenny Craig Pavilion. They were paid and off iciated a USD scrimmage, which simulated a game.
Said McGillis, “I don’t know that an off iciating crew ever was paid so well for working a scrimmage.”
In the first 17 days of the Division I basketball season, the virus and programs’ reaction to it has created a wide discrepancy in games played.
In the West Coast Conference, seven of the 10 teams have played at least five games. BYU and USF have played seven.
USD is the only team to have played just one game.
In the Mountain West, Colorado State and New Mexico are still waiting to play their first games.
In the ACC, Duke canceled the remainder of its nonconference games on Wednesday, stating, “The decision was made out of an abundance of caution due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to allow the Blue Devils’ student-athletes time over the holidays to spend with their families.”
Last season, USD played 15 non-conference games before opening WCC play. If the Cal State Fullerton game is rescheduled, the Toreros are currently set to play just six non-conference games.
The Toreros are scheduled to play four more nonconference games in nine days starting Monday at home vs. Nevada, then at Cal Poly (Wednesday), at UC Ir vine (Dec. 19) and at home against Long Beach State on Dec. 22.
The WCC season opener is set for Dec. 31 at San Francisco, which has a win over Virg inia, ranked No. 4 at the time.