Mar 12, 2021

KU out of Big 12 Tournament due to positive COVID test

Posted Mar 12, 2021 7:02 PM

By Jackson Schneider

LAWRENCE, Kan. — The University of Kansas basketball team with be forced to withdraw from the 2021 Big 12 Basketball Tournament due to a positive COVID-19 test within the team.

The news broke Friday, just one night after Kansas defeated Oklahoma in the Quarterfinal round. The Jayhawks were scheduled to take on Texas in the Semifinals Friday night. 

Bill Self released a statement on the cancelation of the semifinal matchup:

"Obviously we are disappointed and our players are disappointed that they can't continue to compete for the Big 12 Championship," Head Coach Bill Self said. "While we have been fortunate to avoid this throughout the season, there are daily risks with this virus that everybody participating is trying to avoid. We have followed the daily testing and additional protocols that have been setup for us, unfortunately we caught a bad break at the wrong time. I look forward to preparing my team in probably a unique way for next week's NCAA Tournament."

The Big 12 Conference also released a statement on the cancelation:

"The Big 12 Conference announced today that the Kansas vs. Texas men’s basketball championship semifinal game has been canceled. The game was scheduled to be played on Friday, March 12 at 8:30 p.m. CT. 

The cancellation follows a positive test, subsequent quarantining, and contact tracing within the Kansas men’s basketball program.

As a result of the uncontested outcome Texas advances to the Phillips 66 Big 12 men’s basketball championship game and will play the winner of tonight’s Baylor vs. Oklahoma State game."

The Jayhawks for now, will look ahead to an NCAA Tournament appearance.