SCHEDULE: Georgetown Visits Villanova on Sunday, Jeff Goodman Hates It (UPDATED)

Your Georgetown Hoyas had no game scheduled this weekend, between two midweek games against Creighton, so there has been chatter about Patrick Ewing adding a matchup. Now, some more concrete information appears to have trickled out, with the Hoyas expected to visit Villanova on Sunday at 2:30pm.

Earlier today, when fans heard Villanova’s game with Xavier became postponed due to Xavier’s issues with Covid-19, many suspected that Georgetown would visit suburban Philadelphia on Super Bowl Sunday. After Bobby Bancroft asked Patrick Ewing about finding a nonconference opponent, Georgetown filling in against a BIG EAST rival seemed logical.

There was also speculation that on FOX, ahead of the “Big Game,” a bigger matchup between some top teams in America might materialize.

So, of course, Jeff Goodman chimed in to support the idea of Gonzaga vs. Villanova and, without solicitation for his opinion, disparaged the proposed matchup with Georgetown.

When rumors of the Georgetown-Villanova matchup start to firm up—by his own sources—Goodman literally tweets “Boo” with seven o’s like he’s some kinda banned, outgoing president!

With Villanova (5-1) having played only 6 conference games, Georgetown (2-5) only playing 7, and a handful of conference teams playing 11-12 games, these teams needed another conference game before a potential second hiatus crept up. Moreover, Villanova doesn’t need additional unnecessary virus exposure from a west-coast team.

The Hoyas already hosted Villanova in December, before each of VU and GU going on pause, so this schedule shift does include Georgetown visiting Finneran Pavilion for the first time since the renovations and renaming.

Playing Creighton away, Villanova away, and then hosting Creighton would, indeed, be a tough stretch. If Georgetown wins one, it’s a steal. If they win two or more, it would mean the Hoyas have grown significantly and could make a run.

When the BIG EAST does make the announcement, the next question would be what would happen to the scheduled February 17th matchup? Georgetown had games against DePaul (H), Providence (A), Marquette (A), and Xavier (A) postponed, but all of those conference opponents are already scheduled to play Tuesday (16th) or Wednesday (17th).

Creighton would be the odd man out that third week of February, but Georgetown will have played them twice by that time. Villanova is scheduled to play Creighton on Feb 13th (Phila.) and March 3rd (Omaha). There’s no clear plug-in for that week.

So, removing Georgetown-Villanova from the 19th will trigger some shuffling and likely indicates expectations that another program may have to pause or postpone. Yikes.

The BIG EAST is right to get the games in while you can. Goodman is not so right.

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UPDATE 2/3 : It’s confirmed.

GUHOYAS Press Release:

Georgetown and Villanova to Play on Sunday

WASHINGTON – The BIG EAST Conference has announced that Georgetown will now play at No. 3/3 Villanova on Sunday, February 7. The game will tip off at 2:30 p.m. and will be on FOX.

Villanova was originally scheduled to play Xavier on Sunday, but the game was postponed due to a COVID-19 issue within the Xavier program. Sunday’s matchup with the Wildcats will replace the Georgetown-Villanova game that was set for Wednesday, February 17.