Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns basketball coach Bob Marlin will again miss games due to COVID-19

Louisiana men's basketball Bob Marlin has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss the Ragin’ Cajuns’ next two games, the school announced Wednesday.

Marlin will not travel with UL (5-5) to its Sun Belt Conference opener on Thursday (5:30 p.m. CT, ESPN+) at Appalachian State and to its game Saturday (1 p.m., ESPN+) at Coastal Carolina.

Assistant coach Brock Morris will serve as acting head coach for both games.

Morris, also a former South Alabama assistant, coached Daytona State College in Florida during the 2018-19 season before returning to UL for a second stint on Marlin’s staff. He was director of basketball operations during his first stop with the Cajuns.

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This is the second time Marlin has contracted COVID-19.

He also tested positive and missed two games, both at Texas State, last season. Morris coached UL in those two games, and the Cajuns won both.

UL hasn’t played since a 71-56 loss at Houston on Dec. 14.

The Cajuns’ Dec. 20 home game against Loyola (Louisiana) was canceled due to COVID-19 issues within the Loyola program.

Also Wednesday, the Sun Belt announced that men’s and women’s basketball games that cannot be played due to the virus will be canceled, considered a no-contest and will not be rescheduled. A team is required to play if it has seven available players, scholarship or non-scholarship, plus one full-time coach. Teams may opt, however, to play with fewer than seven players.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Louisiana basketball coach Bob Marlin tests positive for COVID-19