Kentucky's frustrating basketball season took another hit on Friday when the program announced that Saturday's game against Texas was canceled due to Covid-19 issues.

The Wildcats were scheduled to play the No. 5 Longhorns in the Big12-SEC Challenge at Rupp Arena. It was slated to be the national primetime broadcast for ESPN.

A matchup with Texas (11-3) was widely viewed by college basketball analysts as an opportunity for Kentucky (5-10) to record a signature win over a quality opponent and start building momentum for a potential postseason run.

Without that opportunity, UK would likely need to win the SEC Tournament to earn a spot in the NCAA field.

Both teams may have been impacted by Covid-19 on Saturday. Texas coach Shaka Smart was in quarantine this week after his own positive test, and his status for the game against UK was uncertain. Playing without their coach, the Longhorns were upset by Oklahoma, 80-79, on Tuesday..

According to a release from UK and the SEC, the Cats' season will be placed on a "48-hour pause" due to a combination of positive testing, contact tracing, and subsequent quarantining of individuals within the program. No players or coaches were identified in the press release.

UK coach John Calipari was scheduled to meet with the media at 1:30 ET on Friday, but that Zoom video conference was also canceled.

Kentucky's next scheduled game is Tuesday, Feb. 2, at Missouri.

Previously scheduled games against Detroit Mercy and South Carolina were also canceled due to Covid-19 testing within those programs. The South Carolina game may be rescheduled by the SEC at a later date, if necessary.