STOCKTON, Calif. – The Pacific men's and women's basketball teams had to fight a familiar foe as the West Coast Conference schedule started in late December – the inconsistency of playing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both programs completed the non-conference season as scheduled, but COVID issues postponed the WCC games, including the first three women's games and the first two men's contests. The WCC was impacted as the first 17 men's or women's WCC games scheduled from December 30 through January 5 were postponed.
 
The Pacific men's basketball team played in the first WCC game of the season, breaking the COVID postponement streak, when the Tigers took the court at BYU on Thursday, Jan. 6. It did not mean the challenge was over. The Saturday, Jan. 8 game against Loyola Marymount was postponed, but Santa Clara, which was originally scheduled to play on December 30, adjusted its schedule and made plans to play at Pacific on January 8. Less than 24 hours later, Santa Clara then postponed for a second time due to COVID-19. So goes the basketball schedule in the COVID environment.
 
The good news is that teams are regularly testing, often catching positives even when there are no symptoms. Most programs are back to similar safety protocols that were in place last season.
 
In the meantime, many of the games have been rescheduled, and basketball is resuming in the WCC. There have been eight men's games, and four women's contests played in the league to date, including one each for the Tigers. And most of the postponed games have been rescheduled.
 
The Pacific men's team now has its game with Santa Clara scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 12. Originally scheduled for January 1, Pepperdine will play at the Alex G. Spanos Center on Monday, Jan. 17. and LMU has planned its trip to Stockton for Saturday, Feb. 19. All three rescheduled games are slated to tip at 7 p.m.
 
Pacific men's basketball fans are in for a treat in January with four home conference games in a 10-day period, starting with the Santa Clara contest and highlighted by the January 20 visit by #2 Gonzaga.

Also, the game against San Francisco, scheduled for Feb. 17, has been moved to Feb. 15 as both institutions mutually agreed to reschedule. 
 
Similarly, the women's program rescheduled the January 6 game against Santa Clara for 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 31. The canceled season opener at Pepperdine will be added to the Southern California road trip in February and played on Tuesday, Feb. 15, just before games at San Diego and Loyola Marymount. The home game with San Diego is yet to be rescheduled. The women's team returns to the court at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 13, against Gonzaga.
 
Several spectator entry policies were recently updated. To provide as safe as an environment as possible, food service has been temporarily suspended. In accordance with the CDPH indoor mask mandate, spectators must wear masks while inside the Spanos Center.
 
Based on guidance from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), spectators ages two and above attending men's or women's basketball games must provide proof of a vaccine or negative COVID-19 test. The tests must be conducted within one day for antigen tests and within two days for PCR tests. The tests from outside providers must include the name, date, and result. Those 18 and above must show an ID that matches the test result. The vaccine checks are new for women's basketball as the CDPH lowered the threshold in the definition of "mega-events" to 500 or more.
 
Spectators can purchase a test from Prplei, the company coordinating the vaccine checks, or may bring a home test and take it in the presence of the Prplei staff. Vaccine checkpoints open 75 minutes before tipoff. The entry gates open 60 minutes ahead of tipoff.