Kentucky basketball: Saturday’s matchup with Texas canceled, school on 48-hour pause

The Kentucky Wildcats and Texas Longhorns college basketball game scheduled for this Saturday has been canceled due to COVID-19.

In a college basketball season that has seen several teams cancel or postpone games and whole tournaments, the SEC announced on Friday afternoon that the highly-anticipated Kentucky and Texas game that was set to take place on Saturday will not be happening because of COVID-related issues.

This comes as more disappointing news for Wildcat fans as their team currently sits at 5-10. Kentucky has had three other games be either canceled or postponed so far this season. Their matchup with Detroit Mercy in the Bluegrass Showcase was initially slated for late November but was postponed once and then again in December.

What’s next for the Kentucky Wildcats?

In a statement issued by the Kentucky Men’s Basketball program’s Twitter account today, the school cited a “combination of positive testing, contact tracing and subsequent quarantining of individuals within the Kentucky basketball program.”

The game against the No. 5 Longhorns was to be a part of the eighth annual SEC/Big 12 Challenge that still includes matchups between Auburn and Baylor, Kansas and Tennessee, and more.

In addition to the cancellation with Texas, Kentucky also announced that the program has been put on a 48-hour pause to clear the COVID-19 precaution waiting period.

The Wildcats lost their most recent matchup with the Alabama Crimson Tide 59-70. Their wins this season have come against Morehead State, Mississippi State, Vandy, Florida, and LSU.

John Calipari and company will look to get back on the right track on Tuesday, Feb. 2 as they travel to the University of Missouri to take on the Tigers.

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