Report: Duke Men's CBB to Postpone Clemson, Notre Dame Games amid COVID-19 Issues

The Duke men's basketball team postponed its game against Clemson and will reportedly also push a contest against Notre Dame amid COVID-19 concerns within the Blue Devils' program.

Duke confirmed the postponement of the Clemson game. Earlier Monday, Vashti Hurt of Carolina Blitz was first to break the news regarding Duke's plans to reschedule the Clemson and Notre Dame games.

Adam Rowe of 247Sports also break news of Duke's scheduling alterations due to COVID-19. ESPN's Jeff Borzello also reported that the Fighting Irish battle on Saturday will be postponed as well.

Rowe relayed more information on the Blue Devils' situation after the 11-1 team beat Virginia Tech on Wednesday:

"The Blue Devils' players traveled home for the Christmas holiday after their game against Virginia Tech on Wednesday, returning to campus on Sunday night when they underwent rapid and PCR testing to confirm their status.

"According to sources, numerous players tested positive upon returning and out of an abundance of caution the program decided to cancel Clemson's game on Wednesday and are meeting this morning to determine the best path forward to rescheduling or canceling that game as well as the game against Notre Dame scheduled for this Saturday."

Duke is ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press poll, trailing only undefeated defending national champion Baylor.

Borzello relayed the ACC's modified policy regarding postponed games due to COVID-19:

"The ACC modified its rescheduling policy last week as a result of the rapidly spreading omicron variant. Games that are not able to played will be rescheduled, and if a new date cannot be found, the game will be considered a no contest. ACC teams must have a minimum of seven players and one coach in order to play."

Rowe also wrote that "first-tier players or staff must sit out 10 days after receiving a positive test result, which would mean the team's game against Notre Dame is in jeopardy."

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski previously told reporters that the entire Duke coaching staff got their booster shots and the team was planning to get theirs before February 1, per Rowe.

This isn't the first time Duke has seen scheduling alterations due to COVID-19, as Cleveland State and Loyola (Maryland) canceled their road games against Duke due to COVID-19 concerns within their respective programs, per Rowe.

With the news on the pair of reported ACC contest postponements coming early in the college basketball season, Duke at least has more time to potentially reschedule the games with the ACC regular season running through early March.

For now, Duke's next game is scheduled for Jan. 4 against Georgia Tech provided the Clemson and Notre Dame matchups are officially postponed.