Seton Hall to forfeit men's game vs. St. John's as COVID cancellations mark college basketball la...

Seton Hall has canceled Monday's men's basketball game against St. John's because of an insufficient number of players, it was announced.

It will result in a conference-only forfeit, per Big East policy. It will not affect Seton Hall's overall record and will go down as a "no contest,'' per NCAA policy.

The announcement came a day after the cancellation of Seton Hall's game against Iona on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

At least 20 men's basketball games and 36 women's basketball games have been canceled or postponed this season because of COVID-19 protocols as of Friday afternoon. It is a number that seems sure to grow as the nation grapples with a surge in coronavirus cases.

No. 2 Duke announced Friday afternoon that it would play Elon on Saturday after having a second opponent cancel because of COVID-19 concerns.

The Blue Devils were originally slated to play Cleveland State before that program had to cancel and pause team activities. Duke then scheduled Loyola Maryland, only to say that game was off as well after positive tests within the Greyhounds program.

Duke ended up bringing in Elon, located about 40 miles west of Durham. Elon is coached by Mike Schrage, who worked nine seasons under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke.

Syracuse also announced it is canceling its next two games because of COVID-19 protocols. The school will determine whether Saturday's scheduled game against Lehigh and next Tuesday's scheduled game against Cornell can be made up later.

"Our top priority is safeguarding the health and well-being of our student-athletes, athletics staff, fans and the campus and central New York communities,'' Syracuse athletic director John Wildhack said. "While it is disappointing to have to postpone any athletic event, this is the right decision given the increasingly difficult public health landscape.''

Citing public health recommendations and COVID-19 concerns for the team, No. 23 Colorado State canceled a game Saturday against Tulsa at the Hoops Hype XL Collegiate Basketball Showcase in Fort Worth, Texas, and later pulled out of a game Tuesday night against No. 6 Alabama in the C.M. Newton Classic in Birmingham.

"By making the decision now, it affords Alabama an opportunity to find another opponent for next week,'' athletic director Joe Parker said.

Schedule changes also include Hampton withdrawing from the Legacy Classic matchup against North Carolina Central on Saturday, with Hampton pausing team activities because of protocols. Delaware State is replacing Hampton in the event featuring HBCUs.

On the women's side, Middle Tennessee's game at Belmont on Sunday is off because of issues within the Belmont program. No makeup date has been scheduled.