Duke basketball: Blue Devils see yet another postponed game

It’s possible there won’t be any Duke basketball games at all this weekend.

On Nov. 23, two days before what was supposed to be the Duke basketball season opener at home against Gardner-Webb, the Blue Devils saw the postponement — and likely eventual cancelation — of that game due to a positive COVID-19 test within the opponent’s program.

As a result, Duke instead didn’t tip its 2020-21 campaign until Saturday, an 81-71 win in Durham over Coppin State.

ALSO READ: Grading each Blue Devil’s performance against Coppin State

Now, on Tuesday afternoon, as head coach Mike Krzyzewski was preparing No. 6 Duke to host No. 8 Michigan State at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN), news broke of another postponement for the Blue Devils. Elon, which was on tap to play in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Sunday at noon, announced that its next four scheduled matchups are on hold because of a positive test among its personnel:

“Following the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control, the NCAA, and Alamance County Department of Health, members of the team and other ‘Tier 1’ individuals on Tuesday, Dec. 1, immediately began a period of isolation and quarantine that will last at least 14 days. Scheduled games with Mercer University, Duke University, Howard University, and the University of North Carolina have all been postponed.”

What about the scheduled Duke basketball game against Bellarmine?

Elon was one of four teams — along with Duke, Howard, and Bellarmine — set to take part this weekend in the Mako Medical Duke Classic Honoring Dr. Onye E. Akwari.

At this point, there’s no word as to whether the other games in the planned multi-team event will take place. In other words, Duke’s scheduled home meeting on Friday against Bellarmine, a program that has already seen COVID-19 issues of its own, might also end up on the postponement/cancelation list.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more Duke basketball news and views.