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Syracuse men’s basketball will play its season-opener against Bryant as scheduled on Friday, SU Athletics said in a statement.

The program remains on pause as of Monday evening following a positive COVID-19 test from head coach Jim Boeheim and  an unnamed player. Boeheim announced he tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 15, but he contracted the virus earlier. He’s since exited his 10-day isolation. It’s unclear if the player who tested positive has also completed his isolation period.

Members of the program have undergone multiple tests since Boeheim and the player tested positive. No other player, coach or staff has tested positive, clearing the path to tipping off the season on time.

Practice could theoretically resume Tuesday or Wednesday. The team has introduced several COVID-19 health measures to avoid clusters, including wearable contact tracing technology.

There were over 140,000 COVID-19 cases reported in the United States on Sunday, with a 14-day increase of 54%, according to The New York Times. The spike in COVID-19 infections has jeopardized the start of the college basketball season for several programs.

Games have already been canceled or postponed throughout the country, and multiple tournaments are in limbo. Syracuse is one of at least 40 of 357 Division I programs on pause at the moment, according to Yahoo Sports.

Published on November 23, 2020 at 6:21 pm

Contact Danny: dremerma@syr.edu | @DannyEmerman