The Latest: Florida heads to 'Bubbleville' for hoop games

Updated Nov. 30, 2020 9:15 p.m. ET

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The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:

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Florida's men's basketball team has signed on for a trip to Mohegan Sun in Connecticut for two midweek games in “Bubbleville.”

The Gators will face Army on Wednesday and Boston College on Thursday night.

Florida had been scheduled to open its season at “Bubbleville” on Nov. 25 and 27, but it was forced to pull out and pause team activities because of COVID-19 test results and contact tracing. The 11-day event maintained enough scheduling flexibility that the Gators were able to get back in the mix.

Florida had been scheduled to play at Oklahoma on Wednesday, but the Sooners had to cancel because of their own COVID issues.

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Boise State says it will resume football practice on Tuesday following the latest round of COVID-19 testing results.

The school announced the decision on Monday night after receiving the results of testing conducted Sunday.

The Broncos game against San Jose State last Saturday was canceled just a few hours before kickoff after testing and contact tracing ruled out nine players for the game and left Boise State with limited numbers at specific position groups.

The Broncos are scheduled to play at UNLV on Friday night.

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The UCLA men’s basketball home opener has been postponed.

The Bruins were set to host Long Beach State on Monday night. UCLA spokesman Alex Timiraos says the game is off “out of an abundance of caution” based on COVID-19 protocols in the Long Beach State program.

There was no immediate word on when the game might be rescheduled.

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Tennessee State has postponed the start of its men’s basketball season because COVID-19 test protocols mean the Tigers won’t have enough players available.

The Tigers had been scheduled to host Belmont on Wednesday night, but Tennessee State announced Monday that game now has been postponed to Dec. 18.

Athletic director Mikki Allen says the decision was made with the Ohio Valley Conference’s medical advisory group and Tennessee State’s pandemic task force. Allen says it’s unfortunate the home opener will be delayed but the health and safety of the players matter most.

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It’s shaping up to be a quiet week for the Pepperdine men’s basketball team.

The Waves’ home opener against San Jose State on Wednesday has been canceled because of new COVID-19 policies in Santa Clara County, where San Jose State is located. The county has imposed a three-week ban on practices and games for contact sports and is requiring players to quarantine for 14 days anytime they travel over 150 miles.

Fresno State won’t be traveling to Malibu for Saturday’s game because its program has been halted for two weeks after positive COVID-19 cases.

Pepperdine’s next scheduled game is against California on Dec. 9 in Malibu. However, the Waves may try to replace this week’s games with other opponents.

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Wake Forest’s men’s basketball program is pausing team activities for the rest of this week and won’t play Troy on Wednesday due to recent COVID-19 testing and contact tracing.

The school announced the move Monday. It comes two days after the school announced that its football program would suspend team activities through at least Wednesday and wouldn’t host No. 9 Miami on Saturday.

At the time, athletics director John Currie said there had been a “handful” of positive cases for the football program but that he remained confident that the Demon Deacons would play again this year.

Men’s basketball is next scheduled to host Presbyterian on Dec. 13.

The Demon Deacons have won their first two games under new coach Steve Forbes.

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Tuesday night’s college basketball game between Maryland and in-state foe Towson has been canceled following a positive test among the Towson support staff.

Although no Towson players or coaches tested positive, the game was called off because of Big Ten policy and with a prudent amount of caution.

Maryland (3-0) will next face George Mason on Friday.

___ The Carolina Panthers have placed starting rookie defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos on the COVID/reserve list following Sunday’s 28-27 loss to the Vikings.

Gross-Matos has played in eight games with three starts and has registered 1.5 sacks among his 16 tackles, two quarterback hits, and has forced one fumble.

The Panthers (4-8) have a bye this week and players aren’t required to return to team headquarters until next Monday.

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The Big 12/BIG EAST Battle basketball matchup between No. 17 Texas Tech and St. John’s has been canceled due to concerns over COVID-19.

The Red Storm administration announced that its decision not to travel was due to too many risks associated with the disease.

The game was scheduled to be played on Thursday at the United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Over

St. John’s has now added a game for Wednesday night against BYU as part of the Roman Legends Classic at Mohegan Sun Arena.

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The Georgia Bulldogs have hastily scheduled another men’s basketball game, announcing they’ll host Division II North Georgia on Wednesday night.

The game is a make-up for last Wednesday’s scheduled season opener against Columbus State, which was canceled a few hours before tipoff because of a positive COVID-19 test.

Georgia wound up opening the season Sunday with an 85-75 win over Florida A&M, another game that was arranged on short notice after a contest against Gardner-Webb was canceled because of coronavirus concerns.

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Northern Arizona’s two-game basketball series with Eastern Washington this weekend has been pushed back due to COVID-19 concerns.

The Lumberjacks and Eagles were slated to play Thursday and Saturday in Flagstaff. Those games will now be played Dec. 18-19.

Northern Arizona’s opening game against Arizona last Wednesday was canceled due to a positive test with the Lumberjacks’ program.

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Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh says team meetings that were scheduled to be done in person will be conducted virtually on Monday after an increased number of presumptive positive COVID-19 tests.

Harbaugh says the decision was made “out of an abundance of caution,” by medical professionals, athletic department staff, athletic trainers and doctors.

The Wolverines (2-4) are scheduled to play Maryland (2-2) on Saturday at Michigan Stadium, where they are 0-3 this season.

The Terrapins, who had two games canceled due to a coronavirus outbreak within the program, played for the first time in three weeks on Saturday and lost 27-11 to then-No. 12 Indiana.

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Minnesota has canceled its game against Northwestern on Saturday, the second straight football cancellation for the Gophers because of a spike in their COVID-19 cases.

The decision was made by university officials Monday in consultation with the Big Ten. Since Nov. 19, Minnesota has had 47 positive cases, including 21 players and 26 staff members. Seven of those cases were reported on Monday.

The Gophers paused all team-related activities six days ago. They canceled their game at Wisconsin last week.

Northwestern leads the Big Ten West Division at 5-1.

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The Charlotte Hornets will not allow fans to attend home games to start the season because of the pandemic.

The team said Monday it made the decision after consulting with state and local government officials. It will continue to work on a plan that will allow fans to safely return to Spectrum Center later this season.

The Hornets open the preseason Dec. 12 at home.

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Vanderbilt’s men’s basketball team will not play in a Connecticut tournament because of a positive COVID-19 test. The team has paused basketball activities.

The Commodores had been scheduled to play at the Legends Classic and face UConn on Tuesday. They were to have played Southern California or BYU on Thursday in that event.

Vanderbilt had opened season with a win over Valparaiso on Nov. 27.

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The Presbyterian women’s basketball team postponed its next three games because of a positive COVID-19 test for a member of the program. The team has paused all basketball activities.

Called off were a road game at Furman on Tuesday, a home game against Mercer on Dec. 10 and a visit to East Tennessee on Dec. 12.

Presbyterian competes in the Big South Conference. The Blue Hose’s opener against Kennesaw State was called off on Nov. 25 because of a COVID-19 issue at Kennesaw State.

Presbyterian coach Alaura Sharp stressed that the health and safety of the team and staff was the priority.

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William & Mary has paused all men’s basketball activities following a positive COVID-19 test, forcing the postponement of at least five games, including Monday night’s game at N.C. State.

The school says the positive test came within its Tier 1 personnel, which the NCAA defines as individuals for whom physical distancing and face coverings are not possible or effective during athletic training or competition.

The team was notified of the positive result Sunday as part of regular testing. It says all players, coaches, trainers and managers will quarantine for at least 14 days.

Barring setbacks, the team hopes to return to activity Dec. 14.

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