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COVID-19 keeps Boise State men's basketball team on the bench

Boise State men's basketball coach Leon Rice with his hands raised talking to an official during a game.
Ron Jenkins
/
Associated Press
Boise State coach Leon Rice talks with a referee as Boise State played Memphis during the second half of a game in March 2021. Some players showed symptoms of COVID and eventually tested positive, leading to games being cancelled.

COVID-19 has sidelined Boise State men’s basketball for three games in a row. The Mountain West Conference announced Wednesday that Friday’s home matchup with No. 20 Colorado State would be postponed.

“With the uncertainty that still exists, we fully support the Mountain West's decision to shuffle the schedule in the best interest of our conference," Boise State Director of Athletics Jeramiah Dickey wrote onTwitter Wednesday night.

Dickey explained some members of Boise State’s men’s basketball team began showing symptoms on New Year’s Day while on the road in Laramie, Wyo. That day’s game against Wyoming was postponed, and additional testing revealed more positive cases.

The team entered quarantine when it got back to Boise, forcing the postponement of two more games: a road game January 4 against Utah State, and the Colorado State game.

The team is testing daily, and hopes to resume basketball activities Friday. But Dickey said the Broncos would not have enough players healthy and available to play a game until at least this Sunday.

COVID outbreaks have forced the Mountain West Conference to postpone 18 men’s basketball games this season. Games which cannot be rescheduled later will be declared no-contests.

Boise State’s next scheduled game is January 12 at Nevada — but the Wolfpack have also recently had to postpone games due to COVID-19 issues in both the men’s and women’s programs.

The conference has postponed seven women’s games, including two of Boise State’s games because of outbreaks on opposing teams.

Troy Oppie is a reporter and local host of 'All Things Considered' for Boise State Public Radio News.

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