Ohio State To Retest Players And Coaches For COVID-19 On Sunday

After canceling its Saturday game with Kentucky at the CBS Sports Classic in Las Vegas, Ohio State men’s basketball will undergo another round of COVID-19 tests on Sunday to determine whether or not the Buckeyes can return to action next week.

According to a report from CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, the Buckeyes will retest on Sunday before making a final call on their upcoming matchup with the University of Tennesee at Martin, scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip-off at Value City Arena.

After Tuesday’s game, the Buckeyes aren’t scheduled to return to action until Dec. 28, when Ohio State is slated to take on New Orleans.

“As you may have heard, we are temporarily shut down due to COVID-19 positives within our program. I know our players, our coaching staff are disappointed about not being able to travel to Las Vegas and play Kentucky in what’s become an outstanding event in the CBS Sports Classic,” head coach Chris Holtmann said in an Instagram video on Thursday. “But the health and the safety of our players is of utmost importance, and we look forward to continuing to get more direction as we continue to test here in the coming days.

“I do want to thank university leadership, athletic department leadership, as well as our incredible medical team for giving us direction here in these last 36 hours. We hope this is a temporary pause. We look forward to getting back on the floor here soon, and thanks for your support, Buckeye Nation.”

On Thursday, it was also reported that Ohio State would not reschedule the CBS Sports Classic competition with Kentucky. Instead, the Wildcats will face North Carolina after UCLA had a COVID-19 outbreak before traveling to Nevada.