Oregon postpones ASU, Arizona matchups due to COVID-19 concerns

The Oregon Ducks men’s basketball team will not face off against the Arizona schools this week due to coronavirus concerns within the Ducks program.

The team’s matchup on Thursday against the Arizona State Sun Devils and Saturday against the Arizona Wildcats have been postponed following a positive COVID-19 test, Stadium’s Jeff Goodman reported.

The Ducks confirmed the shutdown and said the teams will attempt to reschedule the games.

It marks the fifth game to be postponed in the past seven matchups for the Sun Devils (4-5), who have played just nine games this season.

After a game against Incarnate Word was called off, the Utes were forced to postpone their game against ASU due to coronavirus concerns within Utah’s program.

The Sun Devils were then forced to postpone their next two games against Washington and Washington State after coronavirus developments within ASU’s program.

The Pac-12 has said it will work with teams to reschedule conference matchups at a later date this season.

ASU’s last win came back on Dec. 13 over Grand Canyon. The Sun Devils have gone 0-3 since.

“It feels draining … It’s been tough for [the players], just with all the testing, the stoppages and just everything we’ve had to go through so far,” ASU head coach Bobby Hurley told Arizona Sports’ Doug & Wolf on Tuesday morning before the Oregon news broke. “In a sense, you still feel blessed that we could go play the games that we did [against USC and UCLA].”

It’s the eighth Wildcats game this season to be postponed or canceled. Arizona has been able to play 12 games this season, posting a 9-3 record.

Oregon State, which paused team activities due COVID-19 concerns on Jan. 5, is expected to begin ramping back up Tuesday after cancelling back-to-back games. The Beavers are scheduled to take on the Wildcats on Thursday and the Sun Devils on Saturday.

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