Big East What To Watch: Week 3

GOOD NEWS! It’s Feast Week! Or at least the start of it. Villanova (Myrtle Beach Invitational), Xavier (Charleston Classic), Georgetown (2K Classic), and St. John’s (Hall of Fame Tip-Off) all have big ol’ multi-team events going on this week starting on Thursday. That’s never a bad thing.

BAD NEWS! While Feast Week basketball is always a good thing, it does leave a big ol’ unpredictable hole in the Big East schedule. We’ve got six games on the docket this week that do not have known opponents for Big East teams as we start the week. That’s kind of a bummer for those of us who are trying to put together a list of the fanciest and most important games of the week. Might get Xavier/Florida, might get Xavier/Miami. Might get Georgetown/Duke, might get Georgetown/Cal. Might get St. John’s/UMass, might get St. John’s/Virginia. Who can truly say for certain what the future holds?

As such, we’re kind of handcuffed for big games to keep an eye on that we know are happening. Here’s the top three.

Thursday, November 21: Georgetown Hoyas vs Texas Longhorns (6pm Central, ESPN2) - If we’re being honest about things, the Hoyas haven’t looked particularly great in any of their games yet this season. Texas, on the other hand, has looked anywhere from solid to pretty good thus far, with a road win at Purdue as the shining gem of their season so far. This one will be at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night, which you would think would give the Hoyas at least a small advantage over the Longhorns. Is that enough to shake them up and push Patrick Ewing’s squad to a win?

Saturday, November 23: DePaul Blue Demons at Boston College Eagles (11am Central, ACC Network Extra) - DePaul is 5-0 after shelling Cornell on Saturday. This one will come after taking a week off which itself came after five games in 12 days. That’s a lot of hoops, and we’ll see if the Blue Demons can keep showing off. BC just got smacked by Belmont at home on Saturday, 100-85, after the Bruins blew the game open with a 24-4 run early in the second half. The game certainly looks winnable for DePaul, but it’s a road game against a Major Seven opponent, so nothing is guaranteed.

Saturday, November 23: St. John’s Red Storm vs Arizona State Sun Devils (1:30pm Central, WatchESPN.com) - This will be the Red Storm’s second game of the week after hosting Columbia on Wednesday. Getting another game in after losing late to Vermont on Saturday is probably in SJU’s best interest. If things break their way, they’ll be able to head to the Mohegan Sun Casino for this front end of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off event. Arizona State will likely be hungry for an important win after dropping their opener to Colorado in a non-Pac12 league tilt in China to open the season. The Sun Devils have been an NCAA tournament team the past two years, and while they might not project as one right now, getting a neutral-ish site win over the Red Storm might change that perspective about Bobby Hurley’s squad.

Here’s the full and yet not quite complete schedule of games for the week. Enjoy!