Utah Basketball Reportedly Not Playing In Crossover Classic In South Dakota

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah men’s basketball team is reportedly not going to play in the Crossover Classic in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in November.

Utah was scheduled to open the 2020-21 season against Creighton in the Crossover Classic on Wednesday, November 25. The field in the Multi-Team Event (MTE) includes Dayton, Creighton, Memphis, Ohio State, Texas A&M, West Virginia and Wichita State.

CBS Sports College Basketball Insider Matt Norlander is reporting the move for Utah. According to Norlander, Utah is bailing on the tournament due to rise of COVID-19 cases in South Dakota.

Breaking: Utah has left the South Dakota-based Crossover Classic, sources told CBS Sports. This is the field with WVU, Memphis, Texas A&M, Ohio St, Wichita St, Creighton & Dayton. Concerns over S. Dakota’s escalating COVID case rate was the force behind Utah bailing on the event.

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) October 30, 2020

Norlander mentioned that South Dakota is currently the second-fastest COVID-19 case rate per 100,000 people in the United States. Sources tell him that Utah having Pac-12 games shortly after the Crossover Classic and the concerns over the “ripple effect” that led Utah to leaving the tournament.

The Pac-12 is set to release the conference schedule in the coming days.

Below is the seven day rolling average of new cases, by number of days since 10 average daily cases first recorded, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Photo courtesy of The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention