Wisconsin-Louisville Game Postponed, Badgers add Rhode Island
MADISON, Wis. – You can add the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team to the list of Badgers programs impacted by COVID-19.
Following at least one positive COVID-19 test within the 25th-ranked Louisville Cardinals, the Badgers’ Wednesday game in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge will not be played as scheduled. The report comes from CBS sports Jon Rothstein and was later confirmed by Wisconsin officials.
In the game’s place, Wisconsin will host Rhode Island in a game that will tip off at 3:30 p.m. and be televised by the Big Ten Network.
“We’ve talked about what options could take place,” head coach Greg Gard said following Wisconsin’s 67-65 loss at Marquette Friday. “We had before the Louisville news came out we talked about some shuffling in behind that, knowing we have to get another game yet. Unfortunately, this is the position that our sport is in. Until we get to conference play it is probably literally up in the air, even on game day.”
So far, Wisconsin football had three of its eight regular season games canceled. The women’s basketball team has seen two of its first four games canceled because of opponent’s positive tests. The women’s hockey program had to postpone its series at No.3 Minnesota over the weekend because of a positive test in the UW program and won’t have enough players to play in its next two series this weekend and next. The men’s hockey team canceled its Tuesday-Wednesday series at Michigan State because of a UW positive test.
Louisville officials announced last Thursday the Cardinals were canceling their game against UNC Greensboro and pausing all team activities indefinitely after the positive test.
"The pause in activities follows a positive test, subsequent quarantining, and contact tracing within the Cardinals' Tier 1 individuals, which consists of student-athletes, coaches, team managers and staff,” the school said in a statement. “The team is adhering to the outlined protocols within the ACC Medical Advisory Group report.
"The positive test result was detected during the team's Thursday's COVID-19 testing, which is conducted three times per week in accordance with ACC protocols."
Schools in the Big Ten go through daily testing.
“We minimize the contact tracing,” Gard said. “But when you don’t have that (with) an opponent, you literally are operating day to day.”
CBS reporter Matt Norlander reported there is still optimism that the Louisville-Wisconsin game can possibly be played on Sunday Dec.13 if both teams can be cleared by medical experts on both sides. Having that game return to the schedule could net the Badgers the additional nonconference game they have been looking for.
Wisconsin – which dropped nine spots to No.13 in the AP poll – played Rhode Island in a home-and-home series previously. The Badgers won at Kingston, R.I., in 1998 and win in Madison a year later. The Rams (3-2) lost their first two games of the season played on consecutive days in Connecticut (vs. No.25 Arizona State and Boston College) but have since won three straight games.
Rhode Island is averaging 79.2 points per game, have three players averaging in double figures (led by senior guard Fatts Russell’s 17.6 ppg) and two players averaging 6.4 rebounds per game.