Syracuse’s game tonight against Louisville has been postponed. The Cardinals are still dealing with COVID-19 cases in their program. This is the second time a SU-Louisville game has been postponed. The first contest in the Carrier Dome was put on the shelf two weeks ago, also because of COVID problems within the Louisville program.
For Syracuse, it‚Äôs a brutal blow to the team‚Äôs tournament hopes. Louisville is ranked 31st in the NET, making them a Quad 1 team. The contest was a prime opportunity for a resume win, which SU desperately needs for any prospect at making the Big Dance (The Orange are 0-4 against Quad 1 opponents, and have had games against Florida State and Clemson postponed). It doesn’t have the obvious negative effects of a loss, but the lost chance for a win hurts Syracuse just as much.
Louisville‚Äôs been dealing with this problem for multiple weeks now. It‚Äôs tough to blame a team itself for the spread of the virus, but one has to wonder how the Cardinals are handling these cases internally. The ACC has laid out strict protocols, but what a team‚Äôs players do on their own time is up to them. The worse part of these postponements is that both have come on the day of the games. Syracuse’s players, coaches and staff have given up their time to travel, practice and prepare for these contests, and all of that is now down the drain.
There is no telling if this game will be rescheduled, but with the clump of games SU has within the next two weeks (and the fact that six prior games have been postponed), it’s doubtful that both contests against Louisville will be made up. The Orange have Notre Dame up next on Saturday.
