No. 2 Gonzaga without two players against Auburn due to COVID-19 protocol at Fort Myers Tip-Off

No. 2 Gonzaga will have two players out due to COVID-19 protocols and will not play against Auburn Friday morning in the Fort Myers Tip-Off event.

The news was first reported by Jim Meehan of the Spokesman-Review in Spokane.

Gonzaga provided a statement: "Following testing after yesterday's game, two Gonzaga student-athletes are out today per tournament guidelines and COVID-19 protocols," the statement said. "After Florida Department of Health independently conducted its contact tracing measures, the two individuals are isolating in their hotel rooms and the medical staffs of all four participating schools deemed today's games can be played."

© Chris Tilley, Chris Tilley Kansas faced Gonzaga during the Third Annual Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off Thanksgiving Day at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena on the campus of Florida SouthWestern State College in Fort Myers, Thursday, Nov.26,2020. Gonzaga won 102-90.

Let's goooooo @ZagMBB time to get it done..no @DominickHarri2 today..he had to Quarantine because he was in close proximity with a player who tested positive. He’s good..lets pray for those impacted #zagup

— Shawn Harris, Ph.D. Candidate (@Dr_ShawnHarris_) November 27, 2020

Jeff Goodman, a college basketball insider for Stadium, added they are two younger role players. Dominick Harris’ father tweeted that his son is quarantining due to being in close proximity with a player who tested positive and also noted freshman Julian Strawther will not play today.

After Mark Few’s 600th win on Thursday, the team huddled around him and threw ice on him. Some time before 8:45 PM last night the tweet and the corresponding video were deleted off of Gonzaga’s twitter account. pic.twitter.com/rFRwBZpNp3

— Brenna Greene (@BrennaGreene_) November 27, 2020

After Mark Few’s 600th win on Thursday, the team gave him an ice shower in the FSW locker room. According to Brenna Greene of KREM in Spokane, some time before 8:45 p.m. last night, the tweet and the corresponding video of that ice shower were deleted off of Gonzaga’s Twitter account. Strawther is at the center of the video.

Neither Harris nor Strawther were sitting with the bench players in the opening minutes of the game.

Gonzaga had a positive COVID-19 test from a member of its traveling party before it took the court for its season-opener against No. 5 Kansas Thursday afternoon.

The non-student-athlete was the only positive from 112 tests conducted on Wednesday by tournament organizer Inersport for the four participating teams, including Auburn and St. Joe's.

After a contact tracing investigation, two close, non-student-athlete Gonzaga contacts were identified and were put in isolation in their Fort Myers hotel rooms along with the individual who tested positive under the supervision of Gonzaga's medical team.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Follow News-Press and Naples Daily News Sports Writer Alex Martin on Twitter: @NP_AlexMartin. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: No. 2 Gonzaga without two players against Auburn due to COVID-19 protocol at Fort Myers Tip-Off