An NBA matchup and numerous college basketball contests across a broad region of the nation are being rescheduled due to an impending significant winter storm.
The storm, which meteorologists indicate could cause damage comparable to that of a major hurricane, is anticipated to deliver snow, ice, and extremely low temperatures from New Mexico to New England beginning Friday. Weather experts caution that this system may result in severe destruction, widespread power outages, and intensely cold conditions.
In the NBA, the start time for the Washington Wizards game against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday has been adjusted to noon.
The ACC has advanced the start times for three men’s basketball games on Saturday: Wake Forest at Duke, North Carolina at Virginia, and Virginia Tech at Louisville.
Xavier has also moved its start time for Saturday’s game against St. John’s forward by one hour.
Additionally, two women’s basketball games featuring ranked teams have experienced scheduling modifications. No. 1 UConn’s matchup at Seton Hall has been shifted from Sunday to Saturday, while No. 14 Baylor’s home game against Houston has been rescheduled from Sunday to Tuesday. Furthermore, Cincinnati has altered its women’s basketball game to a noon start on Saturday against Arizona State.
The number of states adjusting college games illustrates the extensive reach of the approaching storm. This forecast coincides with the anniversary of another storm that caused postponements in U.S. sports last year.
The Sun Belt Conference proactively revised its women’s basketball schedule, altering the start times for several games from Thursday through Saturday. The American Conference has also modified its weekend men’s and women’s basketball schedules, moving some games to Friday.
North Carolina Central has postponed two men’s and two women’s basketball games that were set to take place from Thursday through Monday in Durham, North Carolina.
Appalachian State has advanced its men’s basketball home game against Louisiana-Lafayette to Thursday morning, while Marshall has made its home game against Louisiana-Monroe a noon tipoff on Thursday.
Middle Tennessee State men’s basketball has shifted its Conference USA matchup with Jacksonville State from Saturday to Friday evening.
Tennessee’s swim meet at Georgia and the USC Upstate women’s basketball game at Longwood have been moved to Friday from Saturday due to the forecast.
Among other women’s basketball games that have been rescheduled several hours earlier on Saturday are No. 20 Princeton at Brown and North Florida at Eastern Kentucky, along with men’s games featuring Towson at North Carolina A&T and Texas State at James Madison.
Rice has adjusted the tipoff times for its men’s and women’s basketball home games this weekend. The Rice men’s home game against Tulsa, originally set for Sunday at 3 p.m., has been changed to Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Additionally, the Rice women’s game against Tulane, initially scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m., has been moved up an hour to 1 p.m.
George Mason’s women’s basketball game against Richmond has been advanced three hours to 11 a.m. on Sunday morning, with no spectators allowed to attend the game.
The Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball have canceled their annual Fan Fest event planned for Saturday due to the weather forecast predicting frozen precipitation in North Texas and “in the interest of safety for players, fans, and employees.”
