The standing of Tuesday’s men’s hoops in Birmingham between Alabama and Colorado State is doubtful.
Colorado State declared Fri afternoon that it’s unable to travel for its Saturday game against metropolis, “based on public health recommendations & COVID-related considerations on the team.” The program supplementary that the standing of Tuesday’s game are “determined at a later date.”
Speaking during a scheduled press conference concerning twenty minutes once Colorado State’s announcement, Alabama coach Nate Oats same he’s “fairly sensible friends” with Rams coach Niko Medved and he planned to decision Medved later that day.
“I haven’t any alternative info aside from what you’ve seen,” Oats same. “Obviously if it’s someone in their program that has it and it’s a bunch of individuals having to quarantine, that may most likely have an effect on the deal. It’s onerous to inform with this — generally it’s them, generally it’s the opponent. It’s simply onerous to inform. I even have no alternative info aside from on our finish, we would like this game compete extremely badly.
“They’re a extremely sensible team. we would like to play 2 quality games going into Christmas then Memphis game. I’d like to get 2 quality games beneath our belt before SEC play.”
Alabama and Colorado State ar scheduled to satisfy within the recently-reopened gift Arena with a half dozen p.m. CT tip off. The game, that is that the program’s initial in Birmingham since 2019, are referred to as the “C.M. Newton Classic” to honor Alabama’s former coach.
“On our finish, we tend to’ve done everything we presumably will to stay COVID out of our program and done a fairly sensible job with it,” Oats same Fri. we tend to simply quite anticipated not having several problems, and currently that there ar, we tend to most likely do have to be compelled to return up with some plans on various things.
“On this one, I don’t have any contingency plans in my mind. We’re getting to hopefully play this game and if we tend to get a line otherwise, we’ll ought to speak through what we’re getting to do.”
Alabama and Colorado State were each hierarchal in Monday’s Associated Press poll. No. half dozen Alabama (8-2) lost weekday night at nonhierarchical Memphis, while No. twenty three Colorado State (10-0) has nonetheless to play on.
Alabama plays Saturday night in Coleman stadium against city State, and wouldn’t play once more till it hosts Tennessee in its SEC opener Dec. twenty nine if the Colorado State game can not be compete.
The Tide had one among its games last season, against Houston, canceled attributable to COVID-related problems among the Cougars program. It quickly replaced that game with one against Western KY, that it lost.
“We didn’t anticipate these sorts of things [this season], with this several programs movement down,” Oats same. “I assume conferences established the very fact that everyone goes to try to to what they’ll to stay COVID to a minimum. i believe groups do that, and if you’re unable to try to to that in your program and ought to cancel a game attributable to it, it’s a forfeit. That’s what heaps of conferences have done.”
Oats same Fri that Alabama is “taking each precaution” to avoid COVID problems among its program, noting the team uses multiple buses on the road, reserves separate edifice rooms for COVID-susceptible individuals and has its players and employees wear masks in tight places or if a lot of prone to the virus.
Oats supplementary that there haven’t been any COVID cases among Alabama’s men’s basketball program since the beginning of the varsity year.
“We’re cognizant of the very fact that the NBA and alternative school programs ar losing guys, losing games to COVID once more,” Oats same. “We’re doing what we are able to. I’ll say this: it looks throughout this factor that generally bound programs do everything they’ll and it still gets hit with some COVID. There ar some controllables and a few uncontrollables, and we’re attempting to manage what we are able to and so we’re simply getting to wear down the results on something that comes up.
“We’ve done a fairly sensible job handling it. We’re getting to still do a decent job handling it. however that doesn’t guarantee we’re not gonna have any problems.”
