As programs around the country scramble to build schedules for a slightly delayed 2020-21 season, it appears the Big East has taken the next step in clarifying the situation for its member schools. Jon Rothstein is reporting that the Big East will begin conference play Friday, December 11.
That would give schools roughly two weeks to get in non-conference games before starting Big East play. Jay Wright has said he hopes to play the maximum number of games allowed this season (27) which would leave Nova with seven non-conference dates to fill. We still don't know exactly what the conference schedule will look like in terms of dates, but with an extra 2-3 weeks of conference play compared to the normal end of December start you would think there would be enough flexibility to round out the non-conference schedule after conferece play has started as it will be difficult to get seven games in from Nov. 25-Dec. 11. Recently, Nova has had one or two non-conference games after the start of Big East play, and I would imagine that will be the case this season as well.
The situation remains fluid, but right now Villanova is expected to open the season Nov. 25 against Arizona State at a reworked Empire Classic. They would play the winner/loser of the other matchup (currently Baylor vs. Boston College) on the 26th. We've also gotten reports that the scheduled Big East/Big 12 Battle matchup between Nova and Texas is scheduled for Dec. 6. You'd have to think that would be the final non-conference game before Big East play opens. That leaves the Cats with four games to fill. I'd suspect they'd try to get two games in between Nov. 27 and the Dec. 6 date with Texas and then look to fill the other two dates between conference matchups. All indications are that both Villanova and Virginia remain committed to playing their scheduled meeting, although a date is still to be determined. I speculated that the remaining three dates would be Big 5 opponents, and Rothstein reports that Wright has confirmed Nova plans to play Temple, St. Joe's, and La Salle. We'll get a clearer picture once the full Big East schedule is released, something I think will happen sooner than later, and I also suspect that the member schools already have a good idea what it will look like so we may get a rush of scheduling info all at once. For now, it appears we have the opponents for the 2020-21 season nailed down. The schedule currently looks like this:
Empire Classic: Nov. 25-26 (two games) Arizona State, Baylor/BC
At Texas: December 6
Virginia: TBD
Temple: TBD
St. Joe's: TBD
La Salle: TBD
20 Big East Games (each team twice): Starting Dec. 11
That would give schools roughly two weeks to get in non-conference games before starting Big East play. Jay Wright has said he hopes to play the maximum number of games allowed this season (27) which would leave Nova with seven non-conference dates to fill. We still don't know exactly what the conference schedule will look like in terms of dates, but with an extra 2-3 weeks of conference play compared to the normal end of December start you would think there would be enough flexibility to round out the non-conference schedule after conferece play has started as it will be difficult to get seven games in from Nov. 25-Dec. 11. Recently, Nova has had one or two non-conference games after the start of Big East play, and I would imagine that will be the case this season as well.
The situation remains fluid, but right now Villanova is expected to open the season Nov. 25 against Arizona State at a reworked Empire Classic. They would play the winner/loser of the other matchup (currently Baylor vs. Boston College) on the 26th. We've also gotten reports that the scheduled Big East/Big 12 Battle matchup between Nova and Texas is scheduled for Dec. 6. You'd have to think that would be the final non-conference game before Big East play opens. That leaves the Cats with four games to fill. I'd suspect they'd try to get two games in between Nov. 27 and the Dec. 6 date with Texas and then look to fill the other two dates between conference matchups. All indications are that both Villanova and Virginia remain committed to playing their scheduled meeting, although a date is still to be determined. I speculated that the remaining three dates would be Big 5 opponents, and Rothstein reports that Wright has confirmed Nova plans to play Temple, St. Joe's, and La Salle. We'll get a clearer picture once the full Big East schedule is released, something I think will happen sooner than later, and I also suspect that the member schools already have a good idea what it will look like so we may get a rush of scheduling info all at once. For now, it appears we have the opponents for the 2020-21 season nailed down. The schedule currently looks like this:
Empire Classic: Nov. 25-26 (two games) Arizona State, Baylor/BC
At Texas: December 6
Virginia: TBD
Temple: TBD
St. Joe's: TBD
La Salle: TBD
20 Big East Games (each team twice): Starting Dec. 11