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Men's Basketball

Syracuse adds Dec. 29 game against Cornell after GT contest postponed

Charlotte Little | Staff Photographer

The Orange will host Cornell on Dec. 29, rescheduling a meeting between the two teams.

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Syracuse’s game against Georgia Tech on Wednesday has been postponed because of COVID-19 protocols, according to a release. SU Athletics announced the Orange will instead host Cornell that night at 7 p.m. in the Carrier Dome, rescheduling a meeting between the two teams that was originally slated for Dec. 21 but then postponed due to SU’s COVID-19 pause.

No makeup date has been announced for the game against Georgia Tech, but the Atlantic Coast Conference will “look to reschedule the game,” the release said. It’s the second consecutive Georgia Tech game that’s been postponed, as a Dec. 23 game against Alabama A&M was also delayed due to health and safety protocols. But because of a revised conference rule, the Yellow Jackets won’t have to forfeit the game against the Orange.

“We appreciate the flexibility of the Cornell basketball program to be available to play this week,” Syracuse Director of Athletics John Wildhack said in a release. “As we continue to monitor the situation locally, regionally and nationally we will work with ACC and public health experts to reschedule games as required to provide the best opportunity for our student-athletes to compete in a safe way.”

The Orange have now had three postponed games — with two, against Lehigh and Cornell, resulting from their program’s COVID-19 pause — and they are scheduled to play a game for the first time since Dec. 11 on Monday, when they host Brown in the Carrier Dome. At least 14 members of SU’s program tested positive, including four of five starters, head coach Jim Boeheim and senior guard Buddy Boeheim said last week. But they added that this pause has been different from last year’s due to the vaccinations and booster shots helping players only have mild symptoms.



“Many are symptomatic but all are not sick more than a day or so, feeling tired,” Boeheim said on Dec. 21. “This vaccine definitely made it easier for them to get through it. … We had many guys clearly sick last year, and this year we don’t.”

Syracuse (5-5) quickly added a game against Brown, providing a way to bridge the return between a pause and the heart of its conference schedule. And because of Georgia Tech’s status in health and safety protocols, the Orange will have one more opportunity for a nonconference tuneup against Cornell (8-2) before hosting Virginia on Saturday in a return to ACC play.





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