Commissioner Julian Tackett provided a COVID-19 update for basketball in the state Thursday to the KHSAA Board of Control and said nearly 25-percent of this week’s games have been canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.
Tackett said the number of cancellations due to positive tests or players and coaches in quarantine has risen from 16-percent in the first week to 26-percent this week.
The basketball cancellation rate is about the same as football, which had the highest number among the fall sports. Tackett said the numbers show that the different guidance from schools and the state is being recognized and used.
Tackett said games canceled due to COVID-19 will not affect district tournament placement.
Because most districts in the state use seeding to determine placement for the postseason tournament, the KHSAA voted last year to count only the first game against each district opponent toward the seeding guidelines. After some fall sports teams tried to manipulate the process by canceling a road game in order to play a home game for seeding, Tackett said that process has been modified for basketball.
If there are any unplayed games for seeding purposes before the final week of the regular season, the KHSAA RPI will be used to determine the winner for seeding purposes.
The KHSAA expects to release the basketball RPI starting in early February.
