UW men’s basketball game vs. No. 5 Gonzaga canceled due to Huskies’ COVID-19 situation

The Washington men’s basketball team’s COVID-19 outbreak has forced the Huskies to miss their third game and cancel Sunday’s highly anticipated nonconference matchup with No. 5 Gonzaga. 

“Due to COVID-related protocols and after receiving guidance from our medical team, Sunday’s men’s basketball game scheduled to be played at Gonzaga has been canceled,” UW said in a statement on Thursday. “The program will continue modified workouts and to receive consultation from the medical team about next steps as we work toward returning to full participation.” 

With players in quarantine and unable to conduct team-wide practices, the Huskies were also forced to reschedule last week’s Pac-12 opener at No. 11 Arizona to Jan. 25 and forfeit Sunday’s conference home opener against No. 4 UCLA. 

In accordance with Pac-12 policy, Washington (4-5, 0-1 Pac-12) suffered a loss against UCLA. However, UW’s inability to play Gonzaga will not count against its record or give the Bulldogs a win. 

Still, this marks the second straight year the UW-GU game has been canceled due to the coronavirus. In their previous matchup, Gonzaga won 83-76 in 2019 for its sixth straight win over Washington. 

Two years ago, the Huskies and Zags signed a four-year deal to extend their cross-state series until the 2023-24 season. 

“This series is important to both schools and the administrations will begin working on an agreeable date for this game in Spokane next year,” UW said in a statement on Thursday. 

Washington hasn’t played since suffering an 82-74 nonconference loss to Winthrop on Nov. 27. 

Seven Huskies reportedly tested positive for the virus and went into protocol on Dec. 1. A UW spokesperson confirmed last week that the entire team and staff was fully vaccinated before the start of the season.

Coach Mike Hopkins said Tuesday on his weekly radio appearance with KJR-AM (950) that the team has avoided serious illness, but the situation has been frustrating.

“For the kids it’s disappointing,” he said. “You practice hard to get opportunities like this to play such an incredible schedule against great teams.  

“But on the flip side, the COVID thing is real. … You get a really good perspective when stuff like this happens. For us it was obviously disappointing for the games, but we were just lucky that the people who do have COVID that they’re OK. That was the first concern. A really tough time, but the kids are pretty resilient have been really positive and hopefully get a chance to play at some point.” 

Hopkins was vague on when the Huskies would return to the court. UW is scheduled to host Seattle University on Dec. 18 and Utah Valley on Dec. 21. 

“We’re following protocols and just trying to create the safest environment and do everything by the book,” Hopkins said. “We’re obviously not allowed to practice right now. They want to have few people in the gym, but you still provide an environment where they can come in and get some shots in a safe environment. Lift and try to keep up their conditioning for the people that don’t have it. That’s been a challenge.”