Syracuse basketball practicing, Sidibe plans to dress, Pitt short-handed

Syracuse basketball will resume 2020-21 games this Wednesday versus Pittsburgh.

Syracuse basketball is coming out of its second pause due to Covid-19 protocols in the team’s 2020-21 campaign, with an Atlantic Coast Conference clash slated for late Wednesday afternoon against Pittsburgh, and a prime-time Saturday evening battle with former Big East Conference rival Georgetown.

Both of this week’s encounters will occur inside the Carrier Dome. The Orange (6-1) hasn’t suited up for a contest since mid-December, when it defeated Buffalo in overtime on the Hill. A positive Covid-19 test in the Buffalo program led to the ‘Cuse having to put its basketball activities on hold.

As a result, ACC bouts against Notre Dame, Wake Forest and North Carolina also got postponed. The Orange was supposed to host Florida State this Wednesday, but a recent positive Covid-19 test in the FSU program postponed that meeting, with the Panthers now traveling to Central New York on Jan. 6 for a 4:30 pm tip-off, according to an ACC press release.

That game is on the ACC Network. A few days later, on Jan. 9, the Hoyas come to town, in a non-conference bruiser that will commence at 8 pm, with television coverage on ESPN2.

An update on Syracuse basketball senior center Bourama Sidibe.

Syracuse basketball revealed via Twitter on Sunday night that it is once again practicing, and media reports say these full practices include senior Bourama Sidibe, the team’s starting center, who has been out for several weeks with a knee injury.

I asked an Orange spokesman whether Sidibe will suit up versus Pittsburgh, and the spokesman says that, naturally, head coach Jim Boeheim will decide if Sidibe sees any court time. However, the spokesman adds that the plan is for Sidibe “to dress and be available” for the game against the Panthers.

Understandably, Sidibe’s conditioning will likely not be 100 percent come Wednesday, because of how long he’s been out. The entire Syracuse basketball roster could prove somewhat rusty, since players have missed so many practices of late.

Then again, Pittsburgh (5-2) is not anticipating that it will possess a complete line-up when it makes the trip to Central New York.

Donna Ditota of Syracuse.com wrote in an article that the Panthers will be without three or four scholarship guys at the Dome. One of the players unavailable is sophomore forward Justin Champagnie, who is averaging 17.8 points and 12.3 rebounds per affair.