MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota men’s basketball team will have to wait until Saturday to try and snap a four-game losing streak in the Big Ten.
Gophers’ team officials announced on Tuesday that Wednesday’s game at Penn State has been postponed due to COVID-19 issues within Minnesota’s program. The Gophers were without four players and two coaches on Sunday against Illinois, but met the threshold to play with seven scholarship players available.
Eric Curry, Sean Sutherlin, Danny Ogele and Joey Kern were not available. Curry was out with an ankle injury, not due to COVID-19 protocols.
After additional testing on Monday, Minnesota fell below the Big Ten threshold. The teams will work with the league to reschedule the game. It's the second game this season for Minnesota that's been affected by COVID-19 protocols. The Gophers were supposed to end the non-conference schedule against Alcorn State, but COVID-19 issues with the Braves forced that game to be canceled.
"Who knows? Our guys really have done a great job with, not only getting vaccinated and boosted, but just to wear masks and be aware of who they’re around. I think every coach knows at some point, you’re probably going to get hit," Gophers coach Ben Johnson said after Sunday’s loss to Iowa.
The Gophers (10-5, 1-5) are next scheduled to host Rutgers at 11 a.m. Saturday at Williams Arena.