January 22, 2016
A handful of local basketball games have already been postponed in advance of the major snow storm expected to move the Philadelphia area late Friday night. Here's a look at what we know so far:
The Sixers were scheduled to host the Boston Celtics on Saturday night at 7 p.m, but word came down on Friday afternoon that it will be pushed back 24 hours to Sunday at 7 p.m. So there will still be a college-pro doubleheader in South Philly this weekend, but it will now be on Sunday.
Also, the halftime ceremony that will commemorate the retiring of Dolph Schayes' number — even though Nerlens Noel will still be wearing "4" — was rescheduled for March 12th's game against the Detroit Pistons.
The No. 4 Villanova Wildcats were originally scheduled to play No. 16 Providence at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday. That game has been rescheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. (also at the Wells Fargo Center). If you have tickets, they'll still be good for Sunday -- and more tickets are still available. But if the show is as bad as they say and you can't make it down, the game will still air nationally on FOX.
The men's basketball team's game against No. 8 SMU, originally scheduled for Saturday, has been moved to Sunday, with the time still to be announced. Tickets issued for Saturday's game will now be valid on Sunday and those unable to attend on Sunday can trade in their tickets for similar seats at one of three games:
• Thursday, Feb. 4 vs. Tulsa (7 p.m.)
• Sunday, Feb. 14 vs. USF (3 p.m.)
• Thursday, Feb. 3 vs. Memphis (7 p.m.)
This Big 5 matchup has been moved from Saturday to Sunday at 5 p.m. at the Tom Gola Arena. It will air locally on CSN.
The school postponed Saturday night's 6 p.m. game against UNCW at the DAC. Now, the two teams will play on Sunday at noon.
With at least a foot of snow expected in most areas and 18 inches to two feet in others, there will likely be more postponements and cancellations throughout the day on Friday. Here are a few other games we're waiting on, and we'll update their status if/when it changes.
The Flyers, who lost to the Penguins Thursday night in Pittsburgh, may be on the road, but they're not far from the inclement weather. They're scheduled to visit the Islanders Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.
Follow Matt on Twitter: @matt_mullin
