Hours after the Big East Conference announced Monday that Xavier University's men's basketball team wouldn't be heading to UConn on Wednesday because of ongoing COVID-19 issues within the Musketeers' program, head coach Travis Steele participated in his regularly scheduled weekly radio show with hosts Byron Larkin and Joe Sunderman.
Steele, whose team got hit with a positive COVID-19 test from a Tier 1 individual last Thursday and caused the postponement of Saturday's game at Seton Hall, said he found out about a second positive test within the Tier 1 arc late Saturday night.
This is now the second program shutdown for the Musketeers since the season started. The first pause was roughly six weeks ago and it was limited to one positive test by a player.
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Because health information is protected under HIPAA privacy regulations, Xavier can't disclose who tested positive unless that person wanted to announce it themselves, but The Enquirer was able to confirm through sources that the most recent positive test came from a staff member.
Steele said Monday night that the length of this current pause has yet to be determined while contact tracing and additional testing are ongoing.
"If you get somebody within Tier 1 that tests positive, it doesn't have to be a player, it can be a staff member that's around our program on a daily basis, you have to press pause," Steele said on his radio show. "Then you have to do all the contact tracing, right? Who was around that person? Did they come into physical contact?
"We're trying to sift through all of this stuff. It's complicated. It's complex. It's frustrating for our guys, but it is what it is."
Xavier's been unable to practice since Thursday and the players have been limited to their rooms in their dorms and apartments.
"They have bikes in their rooms, so they'll do that, a little bike conditioning workout in their rooms because they have to stay in their rooms as of right now," Steele said on his show.
The first time Xavier was shut down this season it lasted seven days before they could return to practice as a group so as long as they continue to test negative and no new contact tracing issues pop up.
Due to its own interruptions as well as other Big East teams running into problems, Xavier's played only five games in the last 40 days, and the Musketeers still have to play 15 regular-season games before the Big East Tournament on March 10.
"Whether we're paused for a little bit or not, we're gonna get our games in," Steele said on his show. "I don't care if we play every other day. I want to get as many games in as we possibly can because our guys want to play."
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With less than 55 days until Selection Sunday, it will be a scramble to make that happen for quite a few teams in the Big East.
Xavier's scheduled to play its next game on Tuesday, Jan. 26, at Cintas Center against Georgetown.
Steele said, "Hopefully, we can get back out and start practicing here soon."
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