COVID-19 postponements hit Big East, Villanova
The COVID schedule shuffle has hit the Big East, and ninth-ranked Villanova is one of the teams affected.
DePaul and Connecticut have paused basketball activities because of positive tests within each program. That has had a ripple effect through the Big East, which is scheduled to start conference play this week.
The start time of the Wildcats’ conference opener against Georgetown on Friday has been pushed back two hours, while Monday’s game against DePaul has been postponed.
The Blue Demons were scheduled to visit Seton Hall, and UConn was set to host St. John’s Friday. The Red Storm will now play the Pirates at the Prudential Center in Newark at 4:30 p.m. That pushed back the start of the Villanova game to 7 p.m. The
Villanova-Georgetown game will be aired on FS1 and can be heard on 95.7 BEN FM. The game against the Blue Demons was supposed to be Villanova’s home opener. It will be rescheduled and announced at a later date.
The game against Georgetown will be the first time the Wildcats play at McDonough Arena, Georgetown’s on-campus facility, since joining the Big East in 1980-81. The Wildcats dropped a 70-54 decision to the Hoyas on Feb. 4, 1981 in their last visit to McDonough Arena.
DePaul has yet to play because of COVID. The Blue Demons also postponed a game against Northern Iowa and canceled scheduled games against Western Illinois, Chicago State, Alcorn State and Iowa State.
“As we continue to abide by COVID-19 protocols, we must pause our men’s basketball activities,” DePaul athletic director DeWayne Peevy said in a statement. “These are difficult decisions but there is nothing more important than the safety of our student-athletes, coaches and staff.
“I continue to admire the resilience of our coaches and players as we work through these challenging times together. The hard work and support of our medical staff could not be better right now as they provide guidance for all of us. We’ll continue to be flexible to gauge whether we can add any non-conference games to our Big East schedule. We’re all ready to see our Blue Demons play and we’ll be there soon.”
UConn has also been hit hard by the virus. This is the second time the Huskies (3-0) have paused because of a positive test. UConn shut down for two weeks on Nov. 5 after a positive within the program.
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For the second straight week, Villanova sophomore Maddy Siegrist captured the Big 5 and Big East women’s basketball player of the week awards.
Siegrist averaged 21 points,
13.5 rebounds and shot 53.1 percent from the field in wins over Temple and St. John’s. She has four double-doubles to start the season. Siegrist leads the Big East in scoring
(23.8) and rebounding (11.8). On the men’s side, Villanova’s Justin Moore is the Big 5 men’s player of the week. The sophomore guards averaged
17 points and three rebounds in a 2-0 week. He tallied 19 points in a 68-64 victory over No. 17 Texas. Moore is third on the team in scoring (14.2).
Drexel point guard Camren Wynter was named the CAA men’s basketball player of the week. He averaged 18.3 points and 6.0 assists in wins over Quinnipiac (twice) and Coppin State. The 6-2 senior is averaging 19.8 points, 5.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds for the Dragons (3-1).
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Saint Joseph’s has officially postponed Saturday’s Big 5 men’s home matchup with
Temple. Both teams have been sidelined by positive tests and have agreed to attempt to reschedule the game.
The Hawks shut down on Nov. 29 and are scheduled to play at Drexel Dec. 16. The Owls paused on Nov. 26 and are scheduled to visit Houston in their American Athletic Conference opener Dec. 22.
Meanwhile, the Saint Joseph’s women’s team has
added two nonconference games. The Hawks will host Division II Lincoln Sunday (1 p.m.) and Monmouth Dec. 22 (2 p.m.). Sunday will be their season opener.
La Salle’s women’s game Saturday has been canceled after Mount St. Mary’s paused activities due to a positive test within the program. The Explorers visit Villanova Wednesday.