This morning, on their second day back at practice, two players on the men’s basketball team tested positive for COVID-19.

On Dec. 26, head coach Jay Wright tested positive, sending all players into quarantine and pausing team activities. The team was just able to resume practice yesterday, with Wright participating virtually, after nine consecutive days of all players testing negative. However, the program will again be put on pause and the players back in quarantine following these two positive tests.

“We’re confident that it’s nothing the players did wrong,” Wright said on a media call this morning. “It started with me.”

The two players who tested positive are currently showing symptoms and are being monitored by medical staff. The players had previously quarantined in individual hotel rooms from Dec. 26th to Jan. 2nd and will return to hotel rooms to quarantine for another 10 days.

Wright, who is feeling great and will be out of quarantine tomorrow, explained that the team was dressed and ready to practice again this morning when they received the positive test results.

“I could see that this was crushing to them,” he said. “They were only out of quarantine for a day and half and now they have to go back. It’s brutal.”

Although this is the team’s third quarantine, Wright is staying upbeat. “We’re in a pandemic, it can’t be perfect,” Wright said. “We have to make the best out of this season that we can.”

The Wildcats were scheduled to play at DePaul Tuesday, against Marquette Friday, and at Xavier next Wednesday. However, following the news of the positive cases, the BIG EAST announced that these next three games are postponed. No makeup dates have been announced yet.