Santa Clara men’s program forced to pause all team-related activities
Just as the Santa Clara University men’s basketball team got approval to return home, the Broncos had to temporarily shut down the season.
Santa Clara school officials announced Tuesday the Broncos have paused all team-related activities because of positive COVID-19 cases and related contact tracing.
The development comes a day after Santa Clara County public health officers rescinded a ban on playing and practicing for professional and college teams. The Broncos (9-4, 3-2, WCC) had to move to Santa Cruz since the county order was implemented at the end of November.
Santa Clara was scheduled to play Thursday against the University of the Pacific. It might have been the team’s first game of the season in the Leavey Center on campus. Officials postponed the game as well as those at Portland on Saturday, a home game on Feb. 4 against rival Saint Mary’s and at top-ranked Gonzaga on Feb. 6.
The Broncos next scheduled game is Feb. 11 against Gonzaga (15-0, 6-0) at home.
— Elliott Almond
USF GOES ON PAUSE >> Because of positive COVID-19 cases and related contact tracing, the Dons postponed their next three games. Games Saturday at BYU, Feb. 4 at Pacific and Feb. 6 at Pepperdine will not be played.
OREGON PUTS ACTIVITIES ON HOLD >> The Oregon men’s program was supposed to travel to Los Angeles for games against USC and UCLA this week, but that will no longer be the case.
The Ducks canceled the trip due to COVID-19 protocols within the program, pausing all team activities.
Oregon was supposed to play two games against UCLA in a five-day span starting Thursday.
Oregon was also set to play USC on Saturday.
— Adam Grosbard
MICHIGAN STATE READY TO RETURN >> Michigan State is planning to resume competing later this week after postponing three straight games due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the program. Coach Tom Izzo says the Spartans (8-4, 2-4 Big Ten) are planning to play at Rutgers on Thursday night. He expects shooting guard Joshua Langford and center Mady Sissoko to be cleared to play after both tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this month.
Izzo says Gabe Brown recently tested positive, adding the junior shooting guard will be out of the lineup until early February.
NO. 24 OKLAHOMA 80, NO. 5 TEXAS 79 >> Austin Reaves scored 23 points and made two free throws with 18.3 seconds left that proved to be the difference as the Sooners beat the shorthanded Longhorns on Tuesday night.
Oklahoma (10-4, 6-3 Big 12) intercepted a long pass to end the game, sending Texas (11-3, 5-2) to its second conference home loss. The Sooners have won four in a row.
Texas played without coach Shaka Smart, who announced Monday he has COVID-19, and players Courtney Ramey, Jericho Sims and Brock Cunningham. Ramey and Sims are starters. The school did not immediately give a reason why the players were unavailable
NO. 9 ALABAMA 70, KENTUCKY 59 >> Jaden Shackelford scored 21 points to help the Crimson Tide complete their first regular-season two-game sweep over the Wildcats since 1989.
Davion Mintz’s 3-pointer put Kentucky up 54-52 with 4:52 remaining. The Alabama defense then made stops on five straight possessions which led to a 10-0 Crimson Tide run that put the game away against the Wildcats (5-10, 4-4 SEC).
Herbert Jones finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for Alabama (14-3, 9-0), which extended its winning streak to 10 games. NO. 18 TENNESSEE 56, MISSISSIPPI STATE 53 >> Yves Pons scored 13 points and the Volunteers overcame a miserable shooting night to beat the Bulldogs.
While Tennessee (11-3, 5-3 SEC) shot 37% from the field, Mississippi State (98, 4-5) managed just 33%. WOMEN
NO. 1 LOUISVILLE 79, MIAMI (FLA.) 76 >> Dana Evans had 20 points, including the Cardinals’ final 12 capped by two free throws with 6.5 seconds to go, helping Louisville (15-0, 8-0 ACC) escape with a victory.