Ohio State's Dec. 28 Game Against New Orleans Cancelled Due To COVID-19

The Buckeyes have been forced to cancel three straight games due to an outbreak within the program.

Although Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann previously said he fully intends to play New Orleans on Tuesday night, the Buckeyes have cancelled the game against the Privateers due to health and safety concerns within the program.

The Ohio State men’s basketball’s game vs. New Orleans on Tuesday, Dec. 28 has been cancelled because of player health and safety concerns within the Buckeye basketball program.https://t.co/e3fDIzCepA

— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) December 27, 2021

“Our guys are progressing through the COVID return to play protocols well, but we just don’t have the numbers or readiness to play a game yet,” Holtmann said in a statement. “Player safety as it relates to COVID and as they return to play after a significant time off, will always be a top priority.”

The game, which was set for 6:30 p.m. on BTN, is the third straight Ohio State has had to cancel due to a COVID-19 outbreak that impacted both players and staff, including the Dec. 18 matchup with Kentucky and Dec. 21 game against Tennessee Martin.

“While we were hopeful we could play on the 28th, I think that was maybe a little too optimistic on our part, on my part,” Holtmann said during his radio show on 97.1 The Fan on Monday afternoon. “We practiced with five guys yesterday, only four of which are eligible to play. It’s limited what you can do.”

That said, the Buckeyes are on track to play Sunday’s game against Nebraska, with tipoff set for 8 p.m. on BTN.

“We are making good progress,” Holtmann said. “Guys are returning. They’ll be returning this week. Having this shut down probably allows us to have some consistency moving forward starting on Sunday with being able to play.

“We’ll be rusty, but we’ll be ready.”

-----

Be sure to check out our new message boards, Buckeye Forums. We'd love to have you part of the conversation during the season.

-----

You may also like:

Former Ohio State F Keita Bates-Diop’s Career Night Leads Spurs Past Lakers

Ohio State “Fully Intends” To Play New Orleans On Dec. 28

Ohio State Moves Up To No. 14 In Latest AP Top 25 Men’s Basketball Poll

Ohio State's Dec. 21 Game Against Tennessee Martin Cancelled

Ohio State To Retest To Determine Status Of Tennessee Martin Game

-----

Be sure to stay locked into BuckeyesNow all the time!

Join the BuckeyesNow community!
Subscribe to the BuckeyesNow YouTube channel
Follow Andrew on Twitter: @AndrewMLind
Follow BuckeyesNow on Twitter: @BuckeyesNowSI
Like and follow BuckeyesNow on Facebook!