Tennessee men’s basketball has paused all team activities following multiple positive COVID-19 test results, including one from head coach Rick Barnes.
The positive tests were conducted Sunday afternoon, and the entire program is getting retested today. Barnes has entered isolation protocol following his positive test.
Tennessee was scheduled to start the season on Wednesday against Charlotte in the Volunteer Classic and was to play VCU on Friday as part of the same event. The Volunteers are also one of four teams in the Jimmy V Classic and were set to face No. 1 Gonzaga on Dec. 2 in Indianapolis. The school provided no update on this week’s games but is expected to have one on Tuesday.
Barnes is the sixth major-conference coach to announce he has tested positive for COVID-19 in the past two weeks, following Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim, Ole Miss’ Kermit Davis, Washington State’s Kyle Smith and Baylor’s Scott Drew.
Tennessee, which is ranked No. 12 in the preseason AP Top 25, is now one of around 40 teams to pause team activities in the past couple of weeks. Ole Miss paused team activities earlier on Monday, while Duke’s season opener against Gardner-Webb has been postponed due to positive tests in Gardner-Webb’s program.