NC State Men’s Basketball Pauses Again Due to COVID-19

The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Sunday, January 17th that the NC State at Virginia men’s basketball game has been postponed. NC State (6-4, 2-3 ACC) would have entered the game as the 11th-ranked team in the ACC. Virginia (9-2, 5-0 ACC) currently leads the ACC with Virginia Tech (11-2, 5-1 ACC) and Florida State (8-2, 4-1 ACC) trailing closely behind them. The Wolfpack men’s basketball team was originally scheduled to travel to the University of Virginia on Wednesday, January 20th.

The postponement comes as a result of a positive test within the NC State men’s basketball program, the resulting quarantine process, and subsequent contact tracing for individuals both within and associated with the NC State men’s basketball program.  The game is the second game that has been forcibly postponed due to the protocols, the first of which was the game versus Georgia Tech originally scheduled for January 16th, 2020. 

No alternative date has been announced as of yet. The NC State Wolfpack men’s basketball team has been on hiatus since their 105-73 loss against Florida State on January 13th, 2020. According to multiple sources, the COVID-19 testing prior to the game returned at least one positive result and forced no less than five Wolfpack players into quarantine according to NC State Head Coach Kevin Keatts. 

This is the second time this season that the NC State Wolfpack has been put into the NCAA COVID-19 health and safety protocol, the first coming back on December 4th, 2020. The first hiatus lasted 13 days before the NC State Wolfpack traveled to, and received a loss against, the St. Louis Billikens on December 17th, 2020. 

No word has been given about the length of the current hiatus and the NC State Wolfpack is scheduled to play UNC on January 23rd at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill.