FEAST WEEK~! is in full effect in the conference.
The good news about FEAST WEEK~! is that we get a bunch of great games on the schedule. The bad news about FEAST WEEK~! is that a lot of those games are up in the air on Monday morning. Right now, there are eight games out of the 24 scheduled for the week in the Big East that are still TBD in terms of opponent. Seven of those have a possibility to turn into a game against a team that was at least earning votes in last week’s Associated Press poll. We’ll give you highlights of what to watch this week, but be advised: There are definitely chances for even better games coming up, or at the very least, even more great games.
We’re running this bright and early on Monday morning because of the timing of some of the games involved, and yes, that includes a women’s game right out of the gate…….
Monday, November 22: #2 Connecticut Huskies vs #1 South Carolina Gamecocks (11am Central, ESPN) – I don’t think I need to explain to you why #1 vs #2 is a big deal. This is also the title game in the first ever women’s Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, and no, I’m not still bitter about Marquette getting bounced out of the first ever version of that event by last year’s tournament getting canceled by the pandemic.
Monday, November 22: Butler Bulldogs vs #12 Houston Cougars (3:30pm Central, ESPN2) – Okay, so sure, Houston is obviously favored in this Maui Invitational opener. This is Butler’s first game since turning in the Big East’s worst performance in the Gavitt Games when they lost by 21 at home to Michigan State. If Butler thinks they’re going to be/supposed to be better than the 10-15 squad they were a year ago, then they should probably do better against the Cougars than getting slammed by 20+.
Monday, November 22: #21 Seton Hall Pirates vs #RV Ohio State Buckeyes (5pm Central, FS1) – Seton Hall is coming into this tournament game in Fort Myers off a road win over Michigan. By the time this game happens on Monday evening, there’s a real chance the Pirates will be ranked and ready to knock off their second straight ranked Big Ten team….. but will the Buckeyes still be ranked? After all, Ohio State lost to an unranked (but receiving votes!) Xavier team back on Thursday. Maybe that slips OSU out of the poll [UPDATE: it did!], but either way, it’s a great chance for Seton Hall to prove exactly what they are this season.
Wednesday, November 24: #22 Connecticut Huskies vs #19 Auburn Tigers (1:30pm Central, ESPN) – This is UConn’s first game of the Battle 4 Atlantis, and hoooooooboy, you know it’s a good tournament when you have to play a ranked squad in your first round game. The Huskies come in at 4-0 but without a strong challenge to start the season. 3-0 Auburn already got pushed in a road game at South Florida on Friday, and that’s not a sentence that the Tigers really wanted to hear.
Friday, November 26: DePaul Blue Demons vs #11 Arizona Wildcats (2:15pm Central, ESPN3/WatchESPN) – In theory, this year should be a return to form for Doug Bruno’s Blue Demons. They’re 3-1 already this year, but got smashed by 20 on a road trip against then-#24 Texas A&M. Can they beat the Wildcats in this Paradise Jam game? Maybe, maybe not, but you know they’ll be motivated to prove that they’re better than they were against the Aggies.
Sunday, November 28: #7 Villanova Wildcats at La Salle Explorers (5pm Central, ESPN2) – No one on the Main Line is excited about that 3-2 record they’re holding onto right now, but they lost to two teams seen as possible national title contenders as the season started. That’s just a bad draw, to a certain extent. What VU absolutely can not do is compound their problems here by losing while visiting one of their Big 5 opponents… especially when their next game after this one is yet another visiting trip in the Big 5.
Here’s the men’s basketball schedule for the week, or at least what we know about the schedule right now. We’ll keep it updated — particularly with the new AP poll info — as things keep shuffling during the week.