A winter storm that is expected to impact a large portion of the country this weekend has forced the NBA and college basketball to make adjustments to their schedules.
Per NBA insider Marc Stein, the Dallas Mavericks affirmed their scheduled game against the Los Angeles Lakers will be played as originally scheduled on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
The NBA announced that Saturday’s game between the Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets in North Carolina will tipoff at 12 p.m. ET after being originally scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.
The Nashville Predators announced that their game against Utah on Saturday has been moved up two hours to 1:30 p.m. ET ahead of the storm.
The ACC moved up the start times for three games on Saturday, including No. 5 Duke hosting Wake Forest.
Here are some of other notable updated start times that have been announced thus far, per the Associated Press:
The AP report also notes that the Sun Belt conference preemptively adjusted its schedule for games from Thursday through Saturday, while the American conference moved some men’s and women’s basketball games up to Friday.
Rice basketball will effectively host back-to-back games at Tudor Fieldhouse on Saturday, with the women’s matcup against Tulane tipping off at 1 p.m. ET and the men’s game against Tulsa at 3:30 p.m. ET.
The Richmond-George Mason women’s game will be played on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET with fans not permitted to attend.
Per Weather.com, the “historic” storm is tracking to begin in the southern part of the U.S., ranging as far west as Arizona, and moving east with “significant snow and/or ice” expected to impact at least 34 states and more than 230 million people.
Ice accumulations could exceed one-quarter of an inch, with 11 states between Texas and Virginia likely to be the most significantly impacted. The combination of ice and high winds could lead to extended power outages in those areas.
The area between New Mexico and New York will be under a winter storm warning. A large strip of the country from the Texas panhandle to the northeast, including New York City and Boston, could see at least a foot of snowfall.
