The men's college basketball game between Memphis and No. 18 Tennessee scheduled for Saturday has been postponed because of COVID-19 protocols within the Tigers' program.
The game was canceled about an hour before tipoff. The Volunteers had warmed up and were ready to play when the game was called off at 9:54 a.m. with several hundred fans already in attendance. Tipoff had been scheduled for 11 a.m. CT. Memphis players did not enter the arena. It was not clear exactly how many players were in the COVID-19 protocols.
The game was to be played in Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, a midway point between the two programs' campuses.
Tennessee Coach Rick Barnes decided to hold an intrasquad scrimmage for Vols fans in attendance.
It was one of a handful of games called off Saturday for coronavirus-related reasons. Rutgers' game against Rider was postponed, and Northeastern's game vs. Vermont was canceled.
Temple's matchup with Drexel was postponed just over an hour before tipoff due to COVID issues within the Dragons' program.
The schools will look to reschedule the game at a later date.
On Friday, Syracuse announced it was canceling games Saturday against Lehigh and Tuesday against Cornell, while No. 23 Colorado State canceled a game Saturday against Tulsa at the Hoops Hype XL Collegiate Basketball Showcase in Fort Worth, Texas, and later pulled out of a game Tuesday night against No. 6 Alabama in the C.M. Newton Classic in Birmingham.
More than 20 men's basketball games and 36 women's basketball games have been canceled or postponed this season because of COVID-19 protocols.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report
