St. John’s basketball resumes activities after COVID-19 scare

St. John’s basketball has resumed basketball activities after a COVID-19 scare.

After a coronavirus scare within its program, the St. John’s basketball team has resumed activities ahead of its scheduled matchup with Xavier on Wednesday evening.

The Red Storm postponed its meeting with DePaul hours before tipoff on Saturday afternoon, but the team announced on Monday morning that it was due to “testing and lab irregularities”.

St. John’s performed extensive testing on all Tier One personnel following the presumptive positive test and all returned negative, including the initial positive result.

“First, let me begin by thanking our medical staff and University health officials, specifically Dr. Justin Classie, Dr. Kathryn Hutchinson and Jill Christensen, for their guidance and leadership during this challenging time,” Athletic Director Mike Cragg said in a statement released by the team.

ALSO READ: St. John’s postpones game against DePaul, COVID-19 issues

“While the decision to postpone Saturday’s game was a tough one, we remain confident that we made the right choice.  To be sure, we are equally relieved and thrilled that follow-up testing has delivered good news and that we’re set to resume our schedule.”

There has been no rescheduled date for the Johnnies’ postponed matchup with DePaul.

St. John’s now has seen four conference games postponed because of issues surrounding COVID-19 (at. Butler, at. UConn, at. Villanova, vs. DePaul).

Head coach Mike Anderson said in the same release, “I’d like to thank our medical team and administration for their efforts over the past few days. Our kids and our fans have been tremendous in their patience and understanding of this obviously sensitive issue.  We can’t wait to get back on the court and continue with the season.”

St. John’s basketball ready to resume season after long pause

As the team was only shut down for approximately 48 hours, the Red Storm (6-4, 1-3 Big East) still have not played since December 20, prior to its holiday break.

Since arriving back on campus, the Johnnies have practiced prior to the short pause, and will return to practice on Monday and Tuesday before traveling to Cincinnati.

ALSO READ: Women’s team pauses after positive COVID-19 test

The Xavier Musketeers also saw its most recent game postponed became of COVID-19 issues with Villanova and have not played since December 30, a 17-point home loss to Seton Hall.

St. John’s and Xavier will tipoff from the Cintas Center at 8:00pm EST (CBS Sports Network) on Wednesday, January 6, followed by a trip to Omaha, Nebraska to face the No. 7 Creighton Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon.