Duke’s basketball schedule changing again due to COVID-19
For the second time in three days, the team Duke had planned to play Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium is changing.
Because of positive COVID-19 results in its program, Loyola of Maryland informed Duke on Friday that it will not be traveling to Durham for the scheduled 4 p.m. game against the No. 2 Blue Devils.
“The health and well-being of our student-athletes, coaches and staff, as well as our competitors and the broader community, are foremost in our mind,” Donna M. Woodruff, Loyola’s assistant vice president and director of athletics, said in a statement. “We are disappointed we will not be able to play this game, but we will focus on getting our fully-vaccinated team back to competition soon.”
Duke (9-1) lined up Loyola (Maryland) on Thursday as a replacement team for the game after Cleveland State, which was originally scheduled to play the Blue Devils on Saturday, paused its season due to positive COVID-19 cases.
So Duke officials are once again actively pursuing another team to play on Saturday. After Cleveland State told Duke on Wednesday it couldn’t play, Duke officials had discussions with “four or five” schools before signing a contract with Loyola (Maryland).
The Blue Devils have already played two games this week, beating South Carolina State, 103-62, on Tuesday night and Appalachian State 92-67 on Thursday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Saturday’s game is scheduled to be Duke’s final nonconference game of the season. The Blue Devils open ACC play Wednesday night against Virginia Tech at 9 p.m.
This is a developing story and will be updated
This story was originally published December 17, 2021 at 11:46 AM with the headline "Duke’s basketball schedule changing again due to COVID-19."