KSU coach Todd Starkey is back at work after missing time with COVID-19. His team got back to practice this week.
For a while today, it looked as if the Kent State women’s basketball team would get to play its first game in 17 days.
The Flashes returned to practice Wednesday after COVID-19 issues had forced postponement of five straight games. They were preparing to play Eastern Michigan Saturday.
But at about 4:30 p.m., that game was postponed because of COVID problems at Eastern.
The Mid-American Conference, as it always does, says it hopes to reschedule the game.
“It’s disappointing,” coach Todd Starkey said. “But we do have team back when we can play.”
Multiple KSU players — and Starkey — have had COVID-19 infections. Others have been sidelined by contact tracing.
The team returned to practice Wednesday with only four players available, Starkey said. Thursday’s practice had five, Friday’s eight — the minimum required to play in times of COVID-19.
Starkey said more players might have been active Saturday.
“There’s no manual for this,” the coach said. “It’s the first time in my career I’ve never been through anything even remotely like it.”
This week’s practices, Starkey said, were the first time he and the team had been together in person since the Flashes beat Eastern Michigan Jan. 2. He missed the team’s next game after he tested positive for the virus. At that point, no other coach or player had tested positive.
At practice, he said “they were just happy to be back together.”
“There was good spark, and they were in good spirits,” he said. “But like you would expect, things were a little out of rhythm, and people were treating a little heavier than they normally do.”
Starkey had been back in the office after he recovered.
“I had a rough couple of days, but overall I feel blessed that it wasn’t any worse,” he said.
Starkey said the virus hits people differently.
“We’ve had some players who have had heavy symptoms, and others who went through their 10-day isolation and came out pretty good,” he said.
Through the postponements, Starkey said, he’s been watching a lot of basketball, especially MAC basketball.
Every other team in the league has played at least twice as many games as Kent State, which has the MAC’s only undefeated record at 4-0. Three teams have played 10 games.
Every other team in the conference has lost at least two games.
“It’s been as turbulent and unpredictable as it’s been in the five years I’ve been here,” Starkey said.
Starkey said he hadn’t heard from the MAC on how standings and tournament seedings would be decided if teams don’t play the same number of games.
In football, the conference went by winning percentage (a 5-0 team was ahead of a 6-1 team) if the teams played a minimum of four games.
The NCAA is requiring teams to play at least 13 games — half of the maximum schedule — to quality for its March tournament.
If the MAC did that for conference play, it would require 10 games.
Kent State’s next scheduled game is at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Ohio, which is 6-4 in the MAC and 8-5 overall.
MAC Standings
Updated with games from Saturday, Jan. 30
| MAC W-L | Pct. | Home | Away | All | |
| KSU | 4-0 | 1.000 | 2-0 | 2-0 | 5-2 |
| BGSU | 9-2 | .817 | 5-1 | 4-1 | 13-3 |
| CMU | 8-3 | ,727 | 4-2 | 4-1 | 10-5 |
| Buff | 6-3 | .667 | 4-1 | 2-2 | 9-5 |
| BSU | 6-3 | .667 | 2-2 | 4-1 | 8-5 |
| NIU | 6-3 | .667 | 3-2 | 3-1 | 8-6 |
| Ohio | 7-4 | .636 | 3-2 | 4-2 | 9-5 |
| EMU | 6-4 | .600 | 2-3 | 4-1 | 9-6 |
| Toledo | 4-7 | .364 | 3-3 | 1-4 | 8-7 |
| Akron | 1-9 | .100 | 1-3 | 0-6 | 4-9 |
| WMU | 1-9 | .100 | 1-4 | 0-5 | 2-10 |
| Miami | 0-11 | .000 | 0-5 | 0-6 | 1-14 |
Saturday scores
- Ohio 85, Eastern Michigan 55 at Ohio.
- Bowling Green 76, Toledo 59 at BG.
- Central Michigan 66, Buffalo 62 at Central.
- Ball Sate 78, Western Michigan 71 at Western.
- Northern Illinois 66, Miami 62 at NIU.