Penn State men's basketball pauses, postpones two more games

The men's basketball team of the Penn State Nittany Lions recently had games against the Wisconsin Badgers and Ohio State Buckeyes postponed, once "out of an abundance of caution surrounding the health and safety of the student-athletes, coaches and staff" and the other "due to positive COVID-19 results." 

PSU provided an update on the situation early Wednesday evening. 

Penn State has temporarily paused all team activities because of positive coronavirus test results within Tier 1 personnel. As a result, games versus the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday and against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights next Tuesday are postponed. 

"No determination has been made on how the pause may impact scheduled games beyond Jan. 12," the school added in its prepared statement. The statement continues:

"The health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches, staff and the broader community are of the utmost importance. Therefore, as part of the protocols established by the Big Ten Conference and Penn State Athletics medical staff and in consultation with University, local and national officials and guidelines, individuals with a positive test have been put into isolation. In addition to isolation, contact tracing procedures have been implemented, which includes quarantine and testing for those individuals who might have been exposed, even if asymptomatic."

NCAA basketball guidelines have recommended 14-day quarantines for entire teams whenever any Tier 1 individual records a positive COVID-19 test. Some schools, however, have been able to return sooner by meeting specific conference requirements. 

Penn State's matchup at the Purdue Boilermakers remained scheduled for Jan. 17 on the official calendar as of Wednesday night.