UConn’s scheduled matchup with DePaul on Friday is the latest women’s college basketball game to be canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.
The Big East will attempt to reschedule the game, per conference policy, after issues were found within the UConn program. The Huskies are expected to make announcements about future events in the coming days. The DePaul game marks UConn’s second cancellation after its matchup with Marquette was called off due to issues within the Golden Eagles’ program.
Cancellations and postponements have swept across the sport since the holiday break, including for a trio of top-1o teams.
No. 2 Stanford’s game at Washington, originally scheduled for Friday, is now off due to issues within the Huskies’ program. The Cardinal are slated to begin Pac-12 play at Washington State on Sunday. No. 4 Arizona was set to open its Pac-12 schedule against USC on Friday, but that game was canceled due to issues within the Trojans’ program. As a result of two prior cancellations, the Wildcats have not played a game since Dec. 17. They’ll look to resume play on Jan. 7 against Washington State. No. 6 Maryland’s game against Illinois on Thursday was also canceled due to COVID-19 issues within the Illini program. The Terps’ next scheduled matchup is against No. 8 Indiana on Sunday.
No. 21 Iowa was set to play at Penn State on Thursday, but that game was postponed due to positive test results within the Nittany Lions’ program. Purdue’s matchup with Wisconsin has also been postponed.
As of Tuesday, the Big Ten had updated its forfeiture policy, so that games are not automatically considered a forfeit if they’re unable to go on as scheduled due to COVID-19 issues. It also says that teams without the required number of available players can still compete if the situation is deemed “safe by appropriate medical personnel.