AP Photo/Orlin WagnerMonday’s Kansas women’s basketball game against UT Rio Grande Valley has been canceled because of injury and COVID-19 protocols within the KU women’s basketball program.
KU announced the cancellation Sunday afternoon and indicated that the game will not be rescheduled.
The Jayhawks (4-1) will now be off until Thursday’s Big 12 opener against Texas in Austin, Texas. That game is schedule for 7 p.m. from Frank Erwin Center.
The KU men’s program, which had its Sunday game against Tarleton State canceled because of a positive COVID-19 test in the Tarleton State program, is also scheduled to open Big 12 play on Thursday, at 6 p.m. at Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas.
Thursday’s KU women’s game will mark a return to Austin for current KU assistant coach Terry Nooner, who was a walk-on at Kansas during his playing days and spent the 2019-20 on the Texas women’s basketball staff.
The KU women, who won their Big 12 opener against Oklahoma earlier this week at Allen Fieldhouse, still have two non-conference games on the schedule later this month — Dec. 21 vs. North Dakota State and Dec. 29 vs. New Mexico State.
KU’s 74-64 win over the Sooners came with OU bringing just six players to Lawrence because of COVID-19 issues within the OU program.
KU coach Brandon Schneider said after that victory that he and his team had talked about the potential for disruptions in the schedule since the season began.
“Every team in the country is going to face adversity with the pandemic,” Schneider said on Thursday. “There’s a good chance it’s going to play a role at some point in the season. Today it was Oklahoma, and next week it could be anybody else.”
