Ohio State will not be headed to Las Vegas this weekend.
Due to positive COVID-19 results in the Buckeye program, Ohio State's upcoming CBS Sports Classic matchup against Kentucky has been canceled, per a team release.
The game, originally scheduled for Saturday. will not be rescheduled, and the status of future games is still yet to be determined.
"The safety and well-being of the student-athletes, coaches, staff and Ohio State community is the highest priority," the release states. "All team related activities have been suspended and the players and staff will continue to be tested according to Ohio State protocols in consultation with the Big Ten Conference."
Our game vs. Kentucky in the CBS Sports Classic Saturday has been cancelled due to positive COVID-19 results within the Buckeye basketball program. The game, scheduled to be played in Las Vegas, will not be rescheduled.
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) December 16, 2021
More: https://t.co/0BDxeAwbIQ
Worth noting: Kentucky says the CBS Sports Classic is currently working with UK to find a possible replacement game for Saturday.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) December 16, 2021
Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann took to Instagram to issue a statement after the news became public, and said he hoped the issue would only be a temporary one for the Buckeyes.
“Just a quick update. As you may have heard, we are temporarily shut down due to COVID 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,” Holtmann said in the Instagram video. “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.”
Despite the entire Buckeye program being vaccinated, Holtmann said at a press conference before the cancellation news broke Thursday that COVID-19 cases have still popped up in the program over the past year.
"I think we've had to have real conversations about what's happening in both professional and college sports. As you know, we have a fully vaccinated program, but there have been breakthrough cases among our staff this past year – this year as well," Holtmann said. "You're really aware of it, and I think those kind of conversations and that dialogue is very much a part of what we're doing right now."
Elsewhere in the Big Ten, Penn State canceled its upcoming game against VCU earlier on Thursday due to an outbreak in the Nittany Lion program.
