On Jan. 10, San Diego State’s game against the Wyoming Cowboys was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns within the Cowboys’ program.
Now, the concerns are within SDSU’s program.
Due to COVID-19 related concerns with the SDSU men’s basketball program, the upcoming match between the Aztecs and the New Mexico Lobos on Jan. 15 at The Pit has been postponed. If the game cannot be rescheduled, it will be declared a no-contest.
This doesn’t bode well for the Aztecs, who have already had home matches against Fresno State and Nevada postponed due to COVID concerns.
Colorado State was sent by the Mountain West to face SDSU at Viejas Arena to replace Nevada, but it merely kicked the can down the road. CSU was already scheduled to face SDSU on March 1, meaning their game was just moved up to the earlier date.
Meanwhile, Nevada has yet to reschedule their match against the Aztecs.
A Dec. 28 match against San Diego Christian was also canceled, but this was due to issues with the San Diego Christian Hawks and not the Aztecs.
However, SDSU hasn’t been immune from COVID-19 issues. Senior guard Trey Pulliam and senior forward Tahirou Diabate were in quarantine during December while senior guard Adam Seiko and forward Joshua Tomaic missed the 79-49 victory over the then-No.20 Rams on Jan. 8 due to pandemic protocols.
The NCAA guidelines regarding positive COVID tests allow a player who tested positive to return after five days instead of 10, which aligns with recent recommendations made by the Center for Disease Control.
The Mountain West adopted the NCAA’s new protocols and eight non-California teams followed suit.
Because local and state health department regulations trump those of the conference and San Diego County has yet to adopt the new CDC guidelines, Aztec players must still quarantine for 10 days.
A 10-day pause would last until Jan. 20, meaning games against the aforementioned Lobos and a Jan. 18 match against UNLV are in jeopardy of postponement. If the Aztecs do not get enough players medically cleared in time, the Jan. 22 match against Boise State faces similar repercussions.
