Those anticipating the debut of Fordham Men’s Basketball this season will now have to wait until after Christmas to see the Rams finally begin their season. The program announced Wednesday that the team’s final two non-conference home games against Central Connecticut State University on Dec. 19 and Stony Brook University on Dec. 22 would be canceled. This decision effectively marks the end of Fordham’s non-conference season before it had a chance to officially begin.

After halting all basketball activities due to a positive Tier-1 COVID test earlier this month, the team returned from a mandatory 14-day quarantine period on Dec. 12 with exactly one week to get ready before playing its first game of the season. Ultimately, the program decided head coach Jeff Neubauer and his team would not have sufficient time to prepare for two games in a four-day span. Quite the disappointing outcome for what was considered an exciting non-conference schedule this year for the Rams that featured notable matchups against Iona College and St. John’s University.

Fordham Men’s Basketball is now scheduled to officially begin the 2020-2021 season on Dec. 30 when George Washington University visits Rose Hill Gymnasium. Last season, the Rams were able to sweep all three games against the Colonials, including Fordham’s 72-52 win over GW in the first round of the 2020 A-10 Men’s Basketball Championship. The game can be seen exclusively on ESPN+ and heard on WFUV 90.7