Three Key Questions For Michigan Basketball While On Pause

Michigan Wolverines basketball (13-1, 8-1 Big Ten) sits atop the Big Ten standings, but has been forced to shut down all activities for up to two weeks due to positive test results for the SAR-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 variant virus infections from several individuals linked to the U-M Athletic Department. None of the positive cases involve men's basketball players.

Here are three key questions for the Wolverines this week:

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The decision to pause athletic-related activities was made by U-M officials, following a memorandum sent to the university by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which recommended the shut down which is set to last "until further notice and up to 14 days."

By the wording, there is inherently a chance that all or some sports resume before the 14-day mark (Feb. 6), but nobody is betting on that to occur. As a public institution, U-M took the MDHHS' recommendations as a mandate, and it would take a lot for the university officials to reverse course.

Even so, the student-athletes are fighting. A coalition of U-M athletes released a statement Monday calling for the reversal of the "unnecessary and excessive" requirement of isolation and quarantine.

Assuming the stoppage lasts the full two weeks, Michigan basketball will miss its next four games — at Penn State (Jan. 27), vs. Indiana (Jan. 30), at Northwestern (Feb. 3) and vs. Michigan State (Feb. 6).

But that is where this gets interesting. Unlike other teams that have shut down or not played games due to positive tests and/or contract tracing, Michigan is not able to practice, train or meet for the entirety of the pause. They will be behind the curve and might not be able to return right away, even when they are cleared. That would put the Feb. 11 game against Illinois also in jeopardy.