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A Look at Saddiq Bey's Situation

J
The safe assumption is that Bey will be heading to the NBA, but there was enough uncertainty remaining that it wasn't completely silly to hold out hope even while acknowledging the likelihood of him leaving. Our current situation has tossed further questions and uncertainty into the mix, and we address all of that here. (I still think he's going, but until it's official we'll do our best to analyze the situation.)

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/a-look-at-saddiq-bey-s-situation
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NCAA Tournament Canceled, Nova's Season Over

J
Villanova's 2019-20 season has come to an abrupt end Thursday as the Big East announced the cancellation of its tournament, followed shortly by word from the NCAA that their tournament will be canceled as well.

It's a lot to process, and frankly I don't feel prepared to properly articulate all my thoughts, but to maintain some sense of normalcy we will do our best to continue our work here regardless of how small our games feel at this point.

There are two immediate things that jump out:

1. Have we seen the last of Saddiq Bey in a Villanova uniform?
2. How will the current situation affect the recruiting cycle?

Since we may be short on content here for the foreseeable future, and will certainly have much less to talk about than we expected for the next two weeks at least, I will address each of those questions separately over the next 24-48 hours.

Feel free to share your thoughts, to vent, whatever. We're in uncharted waters, and I want this to be a place where we can commiserate over the lost season and try to get through this together. Stay safe everyone.
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Big East Cancels Tournament

J
There will be no Big East Tournament.

The conference handled the situation in a bizarre way, as St. John's and Creighton played the first half of their quarterfinal game Thursday afternoon before making the announcement.

It's virtually impossible to see the NCAA Tournament taking place at this point, and while holding on to hope for some kind of miracle, it's probably best to assume that Villanova's season is over.

Just a bizarre, confusing, emotional situation.
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Big East Tournament to Implement Restricted Attendance

J
At 11 P.M. Wednesday night the conference announced the remainder of the Big East Tournament will be run under a restricted attendance policy amid concerns surrounding the coronavirus.

Under the policy, attendance will be limited to teams, coaches, event staff, essential team and conference staff, television personnel, credentialed media, and immediate family members of participating teams. Each school will be limited to 200 tickets.

The decision was made by each of the ten members of the conference on a conference call Wednesday evening.

"We have made this decision due to the rapid progression of COVID-19 and escalating developments nationally, as well as through guidance we have received from medical experts, local authorities and other sources," said BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman. "The support of our fans has made the BIG EAST Tournament one of the most exciting events in college basketball, but the health and well-being of our game participants is of paramount importance. We are very grateful to Madison Square Garden for their understanding and cooperation as we jointly manage a very difficult situation."

For anyone who purchased tickets, full refunds will be available at the point of purchase.

The move follows the Ivy League canceling its tournament altogether, several other conferences making similar attendance policies, and the NBA suspending its season.
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Big East Tournament Schedule Update

J
The bracket is set and it's officially tournament time.

Villanova has earned the 2 seed in the Big East Tournament, meaning it will open play Thursday. More importantly, the Wildcats get to play a team that has to play Wednesday instead of another team with a bye into Thursday. The Cats will get the winner of Xavier-DePaul at 7 PM Thursday night.

If the Cats win that game, they would get the winner of Seton Hall-Marquette in the semi-finals on Friday at 9 PM.

The championship game is scheduled for 6:30 PM Saturday.
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Big East Tournament Scenario/Schedule Update

J
With Wednesday's win over Seton Hall, Villanova remains in play for a share of the Big East title. To get it, the Cats will need to beat Georgetown on Saturday and need Creighton to beat Seton Hall on Saturday. If my math is correct, a win over Georgetown locks Nova into the 2 seed regardless of the Seton Hall/Creighton result, but with a loss to the Hoyas Nova could fall to the 3 seed.

As a 2 seed, the Cats would be scheduled to play at 7 PM Thursday night (March 12) against the winner of the 7-10 game. The game will likely be between DePaul and either Xavier or Marquette.

As a 3 seed, Nova would play at 9:30 PM Thursday night against the 6 seed, either Xavier or Marquette. Xavier wraps up the regular season against Butler, while Marquette finishes with St. John's.

The 2 seed has a clear advantage highlighted by the fact that it gets an opening game against a team that had to play the night before. There will be plenty to keep an eye on Saturday as things fall into place in the Big East.
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Collin Gillespie Questionable For Tomorrow's Game Against Providence

J
Some not so great news on this Friday afternoon, as Jay Wright has revealed that Collin Gillespie has a deep thigh bruise and is questionable for tomorrow's game against Providence. The Inquirer's Joe Juliano was the first to report the news.

It's unclear when exactly the injury occurred, but it did appear that Gillespie was laboring/scuffling at times during the St. John's game.

Regardless, it would be a big blow if Gillespie can't play tomorrow. It sounds as if it's a game-time decision situation, where perhaps Gillespie will go through pre-game warmups and see how he feels, but it will be interesting to see how Villanova handles it. Providence has been playing better of late, winning 5 of 7 including wins over Creighton, Butler, Seton Hall, and Marquette and this is a game Nova needs if it wants to keep hopes of a regular-season title alive. On the other hand, the long-term health of Gillespie heading into the tournaments is much more important, so the team could elect to be cautious.

This is something to monitor heading into the game tomorrow, but be prepared for the possibility of no Gillespie.
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Game Preview: Xavier Round 2

J
A look at the Musketeers ahead of Saturday's matchup. Just a heads up for everybody, I'll be out of town Friday til Tuesday and I'm unsure if I'll be able to catch Saturday's game or not. I'm going to try to, and if I do we'll have our usual coverage, but if you don't see a recap of the game that's why. If I can't catch the game, I apologize in advance.

https://villanova.rivals.com/news/game-preview-xavier-round-2-1
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