STAG-NATION: Ed Cooley Reportedly Adds Fairfield to Georgetown Hoyas Schedule

One thing that is not up for debate is that the college basketball season is approaching and fans of the Georgetown Hoyas are clamoring for news of the schedule. Jon Rothstein reported that the Fairfield Stags will head to DC to face Georgetown on Saturday, November 9th, 2024. In the past decade, the Stags were traditionally in the 250+ Division I rankings, but ranked higher than the Hoyas in 2023-24 with their 24 wins (14-6 in MAAC play). It’s hard to call a team a “cupcake” when the analytics line up so closely.

This could be the first game of the season, but recent history indicates a Tuesday or Wednesday game to start the Hoyas’ season. Fairfield, of course, was Ed Cooley’s first stop as a head coach (2007-2011).

Moreover, Georgetown likely needs a tune up before they face Fairfield. The Stags finished the season 24-13 (14-6 MAAC) and were ranked 175 on KenPom.com, with ratings a little too close to the Hoyas’ performance last year (192). Taking another look at the metrics was a fresh reminder of how bad Georgetown’s defense was (# 321), e.g., versus Fairfield (#243).

Fairfield appears to have only Yale and Vermont on its schedule right now via the Hall of Fame games at Mohegan Sun around Thanksgiving.

As of right now, Georgetown’s schedule looks like this:

• Fairfield (Saturday, Nov 9)
• Mount St. Mary’s (Georgetown MTE in mid/late-November)
• St. Francis (Georgetown MTE in mid/late-November)
• at WVU (expected to be 12/6)
• Notre Dame (home; likely mid-December)
• at Syracuse (December 14th)

Ed Cooley gave some insight into his scheduling when he talked to Kevin Sheehan on Team 980 the other week. Cooley admitted that Maryland’s Kevin Willard wanted to schedule Georgetown this year but, at the time, Cooley only had three players confirmed for his roster. That’s a shame—but I thought it was all part of the grand plan?