It’s the smart decision given the changing landscape and new information.
Happy Thursday Nova Nation! Jon Rothstein reported yesterday that the Big East is moving toward doing away with forfeits if a team goes on a COVID pause this season:
Sources: The Big East will reclassify forfeitures and try to reschedule games moving forward.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) December 22, 2021
It’s the smart move given the new variants of COVID and how they can tear through even completely vaccinated teams. No one should be penalized for an illness they tried to prevent, and so I’m fully in favor of this move.
While the full details of what this looks like is still in the air, the most interesting part of Jon’s tweet to me was the “reclassify forfeitures” part. Presumably, that means turning games that had been forfeits into postponements, and wouldn’t count for or against a teams Big East regular season standings. With that in mind, let’s pull some wins and losses off the board and look at what the “true” Big East standings would look like today:
That certainly changes things up a bit. While Creighton and Providence stay atop the league standings, they each lose a win. Then there’s an 8-way tie for third place with Villanova, UConn, and Xavier holding the slight edge having played two games already. Five teams have yet to actually play a game, and that includes Seton Hall and DePaul who both have two games to make up. And then there’s Marquette. No postponements, no wins, just two losses. Ouch.
This is still all speculative, and we’ll see what the conference actually decides on. But early indicators say this is the direction we’re heading in. That would put Villanova only one game behind the conference leaders in the loss column with plenty of games remaining to prove they’re still the king of this particular hill.
In other news, the women’s team is getting an awesome recruit in Meg Olbrys, Temple puts up impressive numbers in their last game before facing Nova, and the Big East isn’t the only conference trying to figure out this newest wave of COVID.
Villanova Men’s Basketball
7 questions facing college basketball prior to conference play | NCAA.com
Here are seven questions that face both men’s and women’s basketball heading into conference play in 2022.
Villanova defeats Xavier
Villanova gets statement victory against Xavier | Big East Coast Bias
Wildcats knock off Musketeers 71-58
Big East Basketball: Takeaways from Xavier loss to Villanova | Cincinnati.com
Xavier looked like the better team in the first half Tuesday at Villanova, which isn’t an easy thing to do at Finneran Pavilion. The second half was a very different story.
Big Second Half Fuels Wildcats to 71-58 Win Over #18 Xavier | villanovan.com
In its Big East home opener, Villanova found steadiness within the wave of instability characterizing its previous two games.
Villanova vs Temple
Hicks’ record-breaking performance secures win for Owls | The Temple News
Temple University men’s basketball (7-5, 0-1 The American Athletic Conference) defeated Delaware State University (2-11, 0-0 The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) 85-48 Wednesday afternoon, powered by 35 points from freshman forward Zach Hicks.
NBA Wildcats
Raptors Still Making an Impact on Kyle Lowry | Sports Illustrated
Former Toronto Raptors legend Kyle Lowry didn’t hunt what would have been his 20th career triple-double because of Fred VanVleet
Monty Williams On Mikal Bridges: “He Defends On Every Level.” | Fadeaway World
Mikal Bridges’ perimeter defense and shooting ability. was one of the key reasons that the Phoenix Suns were able to get to the 2021 NBA Finals.
How Josh Hart is having the best season of his career | Pelican Debrief
The New Orleans Pelicans are suddenly rolling partly because of the play of Josh Hart, who is having the best season of his career.
Top takeaways from win over Timberwolves: Brunson and the newcomers | Mavs.com
Not only were the Dallas Mavericks trying to – on the fly – incorporate two new players into their rotation during Tuesday’s 114-102 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. They also blew a 17-point lead in the second half.
Villanova Women’s Basketball
Meg Olbrys has become a star on the basketball court for Norwood | The Boston Globe
The 6-foot-1-inch senior and Villanova commit overcame some early disappointment, and a more recent knee injury, to become a star for the Mustangs.
Villanova Football
FORREST RHYNE NAMED AFCA FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICAN | Villanova University
VILLANOVA, Pa.—On Wednesday, Dec. 22, the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) announced its 2021 FCS All-American teams with grad student linebacker Forrest
Villanova Athletics
Rotondo Named to Preseason All-Big EAST Team | Villanova University
New York, N.Y.- Villanova outfielder Chris Rotondo was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team as announced by the conference office on Wednesday.
Belluz, Benediktsson, MacKinnon, Williams Earn Soccer Six Honors | Villanova University
Wildcats earn a series of honors from the Philly Soccer Six
College Basketball
Court Report: How omicron variant of COVID-19 could upend college basketball as leagues flip forfeit rules | CBSSports.com
Matt Norlander’s weekly notebook checks in with the biggest conference commissioners as an uncertain January looms ahead