Massachusetts Minutemen head coach Matt McCall talks to a referee. David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

UMass pauses basketball activities, postpones VCU game due to COVID

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Jan 26, 2021 5:23 PM ET

The Massachusetts Minutemen men's basketball team is going on pause for the second time this season.

UMass announced on Tuesday that Wednesday's game at the VCU Rams is postponed following contact tracing protocols that left the Minutemen unable to compete. The statement adds that the program is pausing "until further notice," which indicates that a Saturday afternoon contest at the George Mason Patriots is also in doubt.

The Minutemen are scheduled to host the Fordham Rams on Feb. 3. If UMass pauses for a full week, however, the team may not complete adequate practice time to play on the first Wednesday of the month.

Kyle Grabowski of the Daily Hampshire Gazette reports that UMass does not yet have any positive COVID-19 tests amid this latest pause:

As of right now UMass doesn't have any positives in the program, Matt McCall said. They're in the process of contact tracing and figuring out if anyone has come into close contact
— Kyle Grabowski (@kylegrbwsk) January 26, 2021

Previously, the UMass program quarantined for over two weeks in the fall and didn't begin the campaign until Dec. 11. The Minutemen fell to 5-4 overall and 4-2 in Atlantic 10 play via a 69-60 loss to the Davidson Wildcats last Sunday.

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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