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Syracuse’s Sunday contest against Notre Dame has been postponed, making it the third-consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference matchup to be moved after a positive COVID-19 test was reported within SU’s women’s basketball program on Dec. 27.

This is the fourth straight game the Orange (5-1, 2-1) won’t play on the original date. SU’s games against North Carolina on Dec. 31 and Virginia on Thursday are also slated to be made up at a later date decided by the conference. The Orange were also forced to cancel a Dec. 28 nonconference matchup with Morgan State.

During this absence, the No. 24 Orange have slipped two spots in the AP Poll despite their last game being a 83-70 win over Boston College on Dec 20. Syracuse reached as high as No. 18 this season before a 24-point loss to unranked North Carolina on Dec. 17.

Following the Orange’s first road trip of the season on Nov. 29, head coach Quentin Hillsman commended his players for “doing a good job,” following all COVID-19 protocols. The first reported case within the program this season came after SU’s fourth away game.

The Syracuse men’s basketball team just returned from its second pause due to COVID-19, this one an 18-day hiatus before the Orange play Pittsburgh at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The virus has forced the men’s team to miss upwards of 30 practices this year, something head coach Jim Boeheim has said is irreplaceable.

If the women do not play again until their next scheduled game against Georgia Tech on Jan. 14, the 25-day gap between games in-season would be the largest since 1978-79, when the program paused during SU’s winter break.

Published on January 5, 2021 at 6:10 pm

Contact Tim: tnolan@syr.edu