It’s like deja vu, all over again – the Michigan State game with Maryland has been canceled.

Just as happened back in November, the scheduled game between the Spartans and the Terps, this time slated for Saturday, Dec. 19, will not happen.

The cancelation marks the third scheduled game slated for Big Ten champions week to be scrapped. Michigan’s game with Iowa was canceled and the Indiana-Purdue game was called off for the second week straight.

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The Spartans (2-5) were to face the Terrapins (2-3) on Saturday, but Maryland canceled the game on Thursday afternoon due to COVID-19 results. The game was to be the final regular-season game for both teams.

MSU head coach Mel Tucker released a statement on Thursday.

“While we were looking forward to finishing the regular season this Saturday at Maryland, we certainly understand the decision to cancel the game,” Michigan State coach Mel Tucker said in a released statement. “The health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches and staff will always be our No. 1 priority.

“I want to thank our medical staff for everything they have done for our program all season long. They have done a tremendous job keeping us safe and we’ve worked hard as a team to remain diligent in following all of our safety protocols.”

Maryland issued a statement announcing the game was canceled, indicating that 15 players and six staff members tested positive for COVID-19 between Dec. 10-16 and daily antigen tests Thursday morning revealed three more presumptive positives among the players.

The results gave the program a 12.4 percent population positivity rate, well above the 7.5 percent mark established by the Big Ten as acceptable, and leads to a pause in team activities for at least seven days.