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MORGANTOWN -- The West Virginia university men's basketball team's home opener against Youngstown State has been postponed due to the Penguins' pausing team activities because of a positive COVID-19 test, the university announced Thursday. The game was originally scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 2 and has no set date right now. West Virginia, ranked 15th in the Associated Press preseason Top 25 poll, and Youngstown State hope to reschedule the game on a mutually agreeable date in December.
The Mountaineers' first home game will now be against Robert Morris on Wednesday, Dec. 9 with a start time of 7 p.m.
"As we experience an unprecedented year in college athletics and across the entire country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to keep the health, safety and welfare of our student-athletes and staff first and foremost," YSU Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Ron Strollo said in a university release.
The start of the Youngstown State season will be delayed and games scheduled for Nov. 25-Nov. 29 have been canceled. The Penguins finished the 2019-20 season with an 18-15 overall record and had a solid 13-3 mark at home. It was their first winning season since the 2012-13 campaign. Jerrod Calhoun, in his fourth season as YSU's basketball coach, was the head coach of Fairmont State University for five years.
Wheeling Park standout Alex Vargo, is a freshman on the Penguins roster. Vargo signed his National Letter of Intent to play for the Penguins earlier this year after he helped lead the Patriots to a West Virginia Class AAA state tournament berth. That tournament was called off due to the coronavirus pandemic.
West Virginia's season will tip off when the Mountaineers take on Northern Iowa in the Bad Boy Mower Crossover Classic in Sioux Falls, S.D. Tip off is scheduled for 2 p.m. on ESPN. WVU's original opponent in that game was scheduled to be Texas A&M, but the Aggies decided to cancel that trip due to COVID-19 concerns.