EAST LANSING— The Michigan State men’s basketball team has been hit hard by the COVID-19 virus this week, causing two of their games to be postponed as three players, including senior captain Josh Langford, tested positive. Langford tested positive for the virus on Wednesday afternoon.

As a result of the positive test, Langford will be sidelined for the next 17 days, in accordance with Big Ten COVID-19 regulations. 

Coach Tom Izzo revealed that Langford tested positive for COVID-19 during a radio interview with sportscaster and ESPN color commentator Dan Dakich on Saturday.

Izzo also announced earlier in the week that Mady Sissoko and Steven Izzo tested positive for the virus, but as of right now, the team has had no other positive tests.

The team has not been able to practice since Wednesday, but Izzo confirmed that the Spartans are scheduled to return to practice on Monday if there are no more positive tests. 

This is just the newest in a long line of setbacks for the third-year captain. Langford has been back on the floor with the Spartans this season after missing the second half of the 2018-19 season and the entire 2019-20 season with a foot injury. He is averaging 8.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game this season and has been playing some of his best basketball as of late, scoring in double figures in three consecutive games. 

With Langford out for the next couple of weeks, junior guard Gabe Brown and sophomore guard Rocket Watts will be tasked with holding down the shooting guard spot.  Watts is averaging nine points per game while playing 22 minutes on average; Brown is averaging 7.5 points per game in 17.8 minutes.  He is also shooting 46.2% from 3-point range, the best percentage on the team.