Winter Storm Forces Major Schedule Changes in NBA and College Sports

A major winter storm is barreling across a huge swath of the United States, threatening to disrupt the sports calendar in a big way. Meteorologists are warning that the storm could rival a major hurricane in terms of damage.

Snow, ice, and freezing temperatures are expected from New Mexico all the way to New England, starting Friday. Because of this, the NBA and college basketball have scrambled to reschedule games to keep players, fans, and staff safe.

These changes stretch across several conferences and impact both men’s and women’s basketball games.

NBA Game Rescheduled

The Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets were supposed to play on Saturday, but now they’ll tip off at noon instead. This isn’t just a random change—it’s part of a larger effort to dodge the worst of the weather and avoid risky travel.

The NBA seems to be taking the storm seriously, moving quickly to keep things as safe as possible.

College Basketball Adjustments

Plenty of college basketball games are also getting shuffled around. The ACC, for example, bumped up the start times for three men’s games on Saturday:

• Wake Forest at Duke
• North Carolina at Virginia
• Virginia Tech at Louisville

Xavier University also moved its game against St. John’s up by an hour.

Women’s Basketball Rescheduling

The storm’s not sparing women’s basketball either. No. 1 UConn was set to play at Seton Hall on Sunday, but now that game happens Saturday.

No. 14 Baylor’s home game against Houston got pushed from Sunday to Tuesday, and Cincinnati will play Arizona State at noon on Saturday instead of later.

Widespread Impact Across States

When you look at how many states are tweaking their college basketball schedules, it’s clear the storm’s path is massive. The Sun Belt Conference moved several women’s games that were supposed to run from Thursday through Saturday.

The American Conference also shifted some weekend games for both men’s and women’s basketball, moving a few up to Friday.

Specific Game Changes

North Carolina Central postponed two men’s and two women’s games that were supposed to happen in Durham between Thursday and Monday. Appalachian State bumped its men’s home game with Louisiana-Lafayette up to Thursday morning.

Marshall moved its home game against Louisiana-Monroe to a noon tipoff on Thursday. Middle Tennessee State’s men’s game against Jacksonville State got moved from Saturday to Friday evening.

Other Sports Affected

It’s not just basketball feeling the effects. Tennessee’s swim meet at Georgia and the USC Upstate women’s basketball game at Longwood both got moved up to Friday instead of Saturday.

Other women’s basketball games shifted earlier on Saturday too, including:

• No. 20 Princeton at Brown
• North Florida at Eastern Kentucky

Men’s games like Towson at North Carolina A&T and Texas State at James Madison also got rescheduled. Rice University changed the tipoff times for both its men’s and women’s home games this weekend.

The Rice men’s game against Tulsa, originally set for Sunday at 3 p.m., now happens Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The Rice women’s game against Tulane, set for Saturday at 2 p.m., moves up to 1 p.m.

Fan Restrictions and Cancellations

George Mason’s women’s game against Richmond was moved up three hours to 11 a.m. on Sunday, but no fans will be allowed in the building. Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers canceled their annual Fan Fest event planned for Saturday because the forecast in North Texas calls for frozen precipitation.

They said it’s all about keeping players, fans, and employees safe. Can’t say I blame them—sometimes, you just have to play it safe when the weather turns nasty.