After pausing basketball due to coronavirus, NC Central leaves for Iowa to begin season

The N.C. Central basketball team has left for Iowa and a pair of games to start the 2020-21 season, NCCU sports information director Kyle Serba said Monday.

Serba confirmed Friday that the defending MEAC champions had a positive COVID-19 test that resulted in a pause in the team’s preseason work. Serba said the team would hold a basketball practice Monday after it arrives in Iowa.

The Eagles open the season Wednesday against Iowa in a 4 p.m. game televised by the Big Ten Network. NCCU plays Southern on Thanksgiving Day, also at Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Serba on Friday did not specify if the COVID-19 case came from a player, coach or other staff member or when the team halted its basketball activities. He said NCCU is “following all safety protocols and reporting guidelines as outlined by appropriate governing bodies.”

Chip Alexander

The News & Observer

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In more than 40 years at The N&O, Chip Alexander has covered the N.C. State, UNC, Duke and East Carolina beats, and now is in his 15th season on the Carolina Hurricanes beat. Alexander, who has won numerous writing awards at the state and national level, covered the Hurricanes’ move to North Carolina in 1997 and was a part of The N&O’s coverage of the Canes’ 2006 Stanley Cup run.