This is getting ridiculous

Yes, Xavier is back on the shelf. After playing one game after a 20 game layoff, the Musketeers are already postponing another game. The tilt against DePaul on Wednesday will now not be happening then. Postponing is surely a misnomer here. At this point the missing game, like those before it, is essentially cancelled. There is no time to make them up, there is no drive from the conference to make them up.

If you are inclined toward optimism (and how you could be at this point I have no ideas), sources inside Xavier's program have told Enquirer reporter Adam Baum that the team intends to play Villanova on Saturday as scheduled. The Wildcats would be Xavier's second game in 28 days an a whole order of magnitude different than playing a hapless Butler team. That Butler game also got Xavier to 13 games, the minimum needed to qualify for a tournament everyone is still pretending will happen as normal.

There is no good news in this, no sliver lining to be had. Xavier is missing more basketball when they desperately need to be getting tuned up. That's happening because someone else has gotten sick in a pandemic the state of Ohio has made no real attempts to come to grips with. The long march of Covid continues.