This isn’t the type of news anyone wants to see minutes before tip-off.

If you missed it on Thanksgiving Day, No. 1 Gonzaga beat No. 6 Kansas 102-90 in the season opener for both programs. Following Thursday’s season opener, Gonzaga is set to play Auburn on Friday.

However, according to Gonzaga, two of its players won’t be available due to COVID contact tracing protocols following Thursday’s game. Both of those players are now in isolation and won’t play against Auburn.

This news was first reported by Jim Meehan of The Spokesman-Review and has been confirmed by Gonzaga.

“Two Gonzaga players are out due to COVID-19 protocols. (not necessarily a positive test). Won’t play in today’s game. Jeff Goodman reports it’s two younger, role players,” Meehan reported on Friday morning.

Looks like it’s just going to be a wild season of college basketball this year as we can likely expect many more stories like this to come in the weeks ahead.

https://twitter.com/AuburnMBB/status/1332349532252872704