Syracuse game at Louisville postponed due to COVID-19 in Cardinals’ program
Courtesy of Rich Barnes | USA Today Sports
SU’s first matchup against Louisville, originally scheduled for Feb. 3, was also postponed.
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Syracuse’s much-anticipated game against Louisville on Wednesday has been postponed due to a positive COVID-19 test and subsequent contact tracing within the Cardinals’ program.
Syracuse (12-6, 6-5 Atlantic Coast) announced the postponement at 1:55 p.m. on Wednesday, less than five hours before the scheduled tipoff. SU’s first matchup against Louisville, originally scheduled for Feb. 3, was also postponed due to COVID-19 within the latter’s program.
Louisville represented one of Syracuse’s last chances to get a signature regular-season win. The Cardinals are unranked but received 40 top-25 votes in the latest AP poll. A win in the KFC Yum! Center would have been Syracuse’s first Quadrant 1 win of the season.
“It’s bad,” head coach Jim Boeheim told Matt Park on Wednesday. “We played well and have had two good practices. We’re ready. At the end of the year, these are missed opportunities … It’s one thing if you lose, that’s bad, but if you can’t play, that’s worse.”
A win over Louisville would’ve boosted Syracuse’s NCAA Tournament odds from 23% to 52%, according to analytics site Barttorvik.com,. A loss would’ve effectively erased SU’s March Madness hopes, dropping it to 16.7%. The Orange have made the Tournament three out of the last four years it occurred.
Today’s game at Louisville has been postponed due to a COVID-related issue in the Cardinals program.
We will return to Syracuse to host Notre Dame on Saturday (2PM, ACCN).https://t.co/jFMT7uae0L
— Syracuse Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) February 17, 2021
Boeheim also cited postponed games against Florida State and Clemson, both of which were at home, as “missed opportunities,” adding that it’s “terrible for our team” and “I feel bad for our guys.” Syracuse has not announced any plans to make up the postponed games.
SU’s next contest is a home game against Notre Dame on Feb. 20. Its four remaining games include trips to Duke and Georgia Tech and a regular-season finale at home against North Carolina. The Duke and Georgia Tech contests are also Quadrant 1 matchups.
SU has paused its program twice this season due to COVID-19, leaving four outstanding postponed games. Many ACC teams want to make up lost games, and there are eight days between SU’s season finale and the start of the ACC tournament that could potentially serve as an opportunity for teams to make up games.
Published on February 17, 2021 at 2:36 pm
Contact Danny: dremerma@syr.edu | @DannyEmerman
