St. John's awarded win for canceled Big East opener as Seton Hall forfeits amid COVID-19 outbreak
A general view during a men's basketball game between the St. John's Red Storm and the Creighton Bluejays at Carnesecca Arena in Queens on Sunday, Mar 1, 2020. Credit: Steven Ryan
St. John’s scheduled Big East opener at 16th-ranked Seton Hall on Monday has been canceled and the Red Storm will be awarded a victory by forfeit.
Seton Hall announced that it will not play the game because of COVID-19 issues within the program. It will be the second straight game the Pirates have been forced to cancel; they also canceled a Thursday game against Iona.
A Big East rule implemented for this season states that in the conference standings, the Red Storm are awarded a victory and the Pirates a loss.
The rule reads "if a conference game cannot be played on its originally scheduled date because one team is unable to begin or complete the game due to an insufficient number of players, including as a result of COVID-19, that team will have forfeited the game, with a loss assigned to that team in the conference standings. A win will be assigned to its opponent."
More than 20 Division I programs have been paused this season because of coronavirus issues. In the Big East, DePaul also is currently on pause because of COVID-19.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
