With the season only a few days old, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team is already dealing with another schedule disruption.
The Mocs' home game against Northern Kentucky, set for Saturday afternoon, has been postponed due to a positive COVID-19 test in the Norse program's "Tier 1 personnel," which consists of student-athletes, coaches and essential support staff. Northern Kentucky announced the news Friday afternoon.
It's the Mocs' third game affected since they released their 2020-21 schedule once it was revised due to the pandemic and its effect on the NCAA starting date. UTC already lost games against fellow Division I member Bellarmine and NAIA program Cumberland University.
The Mocs replaced the home game against Bellarmine with another matchup at McKenzie Arena, with UTC winning that season opener Wednesday against Division II's Lander University 99-63. It's unclear if UTC will be able to replace the game against Cumberland, which was scheduled for Dec. 12.
UTC's release on the Northern Kentucky game said it is postponed to a later date but did not specify when.
For now, the Mocs' next game is against Tennessee Tech at 7 p.m. Eastern on Monday in Cookeville, the start of a three-game road swing that continues with a Dec. 6 game at Middle Tennessee State in Murfreesboro and a Dec. 9 game at Bellarmine in Lousville, Kentucky. That game was already scheduled and is not a replacement for the Mocs' home date with Bellarmine.
The next scheduled home game for the UTC men is against UNC Asheville on Dec. 16. Fans are not permitted at McKenzie Arena for UTC men's and women's basketball games through December.
The opener for the UTC women against the University of Alabama at Birmingham is Dec. 6 at McKenzie. The UTC women paused team activities Nov. 17 due to positive tests and contact tracing, with isolation and quarantine for the Mocs forcing the cancellation of games against Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.