Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg confirmed on Jan. 17 that he tested positive for COVID-19. Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Nebraska men's basketball postpones fifth straight game due to COVID-19

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Jan 22, 2021 6:32 PM ET

The Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball program will remain idle through at least the end of January.

Nebraska confirmed on Friday that a matchup against the Penn State Nittany Lions scheduled for Jan. 30 has been postponed due to COVID-19 issues that have affected the Cornhuskers throughout the month. As Landon Wirt noted for The Daily Nebraskan, this is Nebraska's fifth consecutive contest called off during the Cornhuskers' current pause.

The Cornhuskers haven't played since suffering a loss to the Indiana Hoosiers on Jan. 10 that dropped them to 4-8 overall and 0-5 in Big Ten play. According to Wirt, Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos said on Thursday that half of the people associated with the men's program are currently in isolation.

Head coach Fred Hoiberg confirmed on Jan. 17 that he tested positive for COVID-19:

pic.twitter.com/Gt0RCkgpi0
— Fred Hoiberg (@CoachHoiberg) January 17, 2021

Nebraska is next scheduled to play at the Michigan State Spartans on Feb. 3, but it's hardly a stretch to suggest the status of that game is in doubt for multiple reasons. Student-athletes who've gone through such a lengthy layoff will require more than a couple of practices to return to a competitive fitness level, and it's unknown if any players are suffering from lingering coronavirus-related setbacks.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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