The Daily Orange is a nonprofit newsroom that receives no funding from Syracuse University. Consider donating today to support our mission.

Syracuse men’s basketball’s upcoming game against Wake Forest was postponed Tuesday as the program remains on pause.

Syracuse has been on pause since this weekend, when it became aware that members of Buffalo’s program had tested positive for COVID-19 a day after the Bulls played the Orange in the Carrier Dome. SU was previously scheduled to play the Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem on Dec. 30.

SU’s contest versus Notre Dame, scheduled for Tuesday, was also postponed Monday as SU undergoes contact tracing. 

“The Syracuse Athletics Department continues to work closely with the Onondaga County Health Department, New York state public health officials and the ACC Medical Advisory Group,” a statement from the team reads. “The men’s basketball team is adhering to all public health guidelines.” 

As of now, there are no known positive COVID-19 cases within Syracuse’s program. 

Head coach Jim Boeheim said in a radio appearance earlier Tuesday that the Wake Forest and Jan. 2 North Carolina games are in jeopardy. SU is planning for a 14-day quarantine, which is the standard set by New York state, associate head coach Adrian Autry said.

 

Boeheim has opted against the 14-day mandatory quarantine and said the state should adjust the rule to reflect the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recently changed guidelines, which reduce quarantine to 10 or seven days depending on testing and symptoms. 

Boeheim has also emphasized the importance of contact tracing to avoid complete team shutdowns and to identify who’s been most exposed when a case arises. Syracuse uses wearable technology during practice to measure potential exposures. 

“The Big Ten’s got a good rule: One or two guys, they test the whole team,” Boeheim said Nov. 29 after the season-opener. “If the rest of the team is OK, they play. If three guys test positive, then they think that’s a problem, and they sit the whole team. But one guy or two guys, and we’ve got to do something about this now or the season will be destroyed. Because if you have the team sit for 14 days, and you can’t practice? You can’t play.” 

While on pause, athletes are allowed to train individually in the Carmelo K. Anthony Center, but the team can’t practice together. It’s the second time SU has paused the program. The first came in the run-up to the opener, when Boeheim and another member of the program tested positive for COVID-19. Syracuse looked sluggish in the season-opener, coming off one practice session, and Boeheim said he made a mistake by playing the game.

Later in the season, SU played without five players, including Buddy Boeheim, due to contact tracing stemming from a walk-on testing positive. 

SU’s Dec. 16 game against Northeastern, which was the matchup prior to Buffalo, was added so Syracuse gets to the maximum number of scheduled games. There’s no minimum requirement of games to make the NCAA Tournament, but playing fewer games could hurt a team’s ability to fill out its resume. 

Published on December 22, 2020 at 6:40 pm

Contact Danny: dremerma@syr.edu | @DannyEmerman