Kansas head coach Bill Self talks to his players with the game close and little time remaining in regulation on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021 at Allen Fieldhouse.

The Kansas men’s basketball team’s Saturday home game with Iowa State has been postponed because of COVID-19 protocol issues within the ISU program.

Both schools announced the postponement just before 7 p.m. Friday night, with Iowa State officials saying the Cyclones have “paused activities indefinitely.”

According to a news release announcing the postponement, both schools will work with the Big 12 Conference to reschedule the game. No possible dates were mentioned and it is not yet known if any future ISU games will be impacted.

“While it is disappointing we won’t be able to play this weekend, we look forward to returning to competition when it is safe to do so,” ISU coach Steve Prohm said in a statement.

Saturday’s postponement marks the second time since the start of the season that the KU men’s basketball schedule has been impacted by the pandemic.

A mid-December game against Tarleton State was canceled when TSU officials temporarily paused basketball activities a couple of days before that game.

Sixth-ranked Kansas (10-3 overall, 4-2 Big 12) now gets an extra day to prepare for Monday’s clash with No. 2 Baylor in Waco, Texas.

The Bears and Jayhawks will tip off at 8 p.m. on ESPN in the first of three Big Monday games for the Jayhawks this season.

The extra day of preparation also comes with a down side. KU now will have to wait three more days before it can get back on the court to try to move past the disappointment of losing to Oklahoma State on Tuesday night in Stillwater, Okla.

Even though that loss left the team frustrated, Self said Friday that his players had responded well to the setback and were looking forward to fixing the issues that plagued them at OSU.

“Shortcomings or poor play obviously is magnified big time when you don’t win,” Self said on his “Hawk Talk” radio show Thursday night. “You know, it’s not a reason to push the panic button or anything like that. I mean, it’s a long season. And it’s a different type season. There’s a different type of training that goes into all this that maybe some people don’t quite understand.”

Asked recently about the impact of the pandemic on his team’s mental state this season, Self said he thought the Jayhawks had done a great job of playing and preparing under so much uncertainty.

“Our guys have handled it pretty well,” Self said. “But I do think it takes a toll, mentally. It is wearing. It’s very tiresome.”