The Wake Forest basketball team hasn’t played in nearly a month because of issues related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Tuesday, the ACC announced that the Deacons will have to wait even longer to get back on the court.
Wake’s conference opener against Syracuse, scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 30, has been postponed after one of the Orange’s recent opponents reported positive COVID-19 tests — requiring its team to be quarantined for contract tracing.
A makeup date has not yet been announced.
The Deacons are 2-0 under new coach Steve Forbes, but have not played since a 71-60 victory against Longwood the day after Thanksgiving in the second game of its Mako Medical Wake Forest Classic.
The Syracuse game is the fifth Wake has had either canceled or postponed because of its own COVID issues. The Deacons have been idle since pausing basketball activities on November 30. They resumed practicing on Sunday.
Their next scheduled game is January 3 at Georgia Tech.
In addition to the latest postponement, Wake also announced on Tuesday that redshirt freshman center Tariq Ingraham, who is recovering from COVID-19, will miss the remainder of the season, as will graduate transfer Ian DuBose.
Ingraham missed all last season with an Achilles tear, but returned to lead the Deacons with 19 points in their season opening win against Delaware State.
“As hard as this is for Tariq, Ian and their families to hear this news, our coaches and their teammates will help them throughout this difficult time,” Forbes said in a statement. “The medical care our student-athletes have received since I arrived on campus is incredible.
“I am grateful for Dr. Chris Miles and everyone at Wake Forest Baptist Health and within our university community that have provided care for those within our program over the past few weeks. Both Tariq and Ian will continue to be a part of the Demon Deacons basketball family during their recovery process and will continue their coursework this spring.”
