The American University women’s and men’s basketball teams’ four upcoming games against Lafayette have been postponed, according to statements released by AU Friday night.
The AU Athletic Department is still waiting on the required test results to satisfy University and Patriot League testing protocols. This is the second such postponement in the women’s basketball program — in both scenarios, the University postponed because it had not met testing protocols, rather than a Tier 1 positive test. For the men’s program, this is the third postponement, with the first being a Tier 1 positive test for their opponent, and the second being a Tier 1 positive test within the AU program.
The department declined to provide any additional comment.
Earlier Friday afternoon, Navy women’s basketball announced a positive Tier 1 test within its program. AU is scheduled to face the Midshipmen on Feb. 6 and Feb. 7, though those games are in jeopardy too, as a positive Tier 1 test has generally been followed by two weeks without action. If that is the case, AU will need to find a new opponent next weekend or miss two straight weekends of competition. The Patriot League has not announced its decision on those games.
Racking up missed contests could have ramifications for the Eagles’ NCAA Tournament chances. With a 13-game minimum necessary to qualify for the 64-team NCAA tournament, AU will have to play 10 regular-season games and win out in the conference tournament. As it stands, if the Navy games are canceled, the Eagles would be on tap to narrowly hit that mark. The University could also add makeup games from the program’s postponements with a free weekend to play before the conference tournament starts.
AU currently sits at 3-3, alone atop the Southern Division of the Patriot League with a 3-1 in-division record.
For the men’s team, this weekend’s postponement against Lafayette brings their amount of postponed games to six this season, with previous matchups against Loyola Maryland and Lehigh postponed and awaiting rescheduling. They are currently 2-2 on the season and second behind Navy in the Southern Division of the Patriot League. Unlike the women’s team, the men’s team is currently scheduled to fall short of the 13 game minimum for the NCAA Tournament, with only six games currently planned and another six awaiting to be rescheduled.
