In what is widely known as the busiest travel week of the year, tens of millions Americans will hit the road, take to the skies or ride the railways for the Thanksgiving holidays.

Turkey Week is also a busy time for the vagabond world of college basketball, with the Maui Invitational and the Great Alaska Shootout headlining a feast of tournaments scheduled over the coming days.

While Georgetown won’t be joining Kentucky and UCLA on the beach or sharing an igloo with Cal or Pacific, Head Coach John Thompson III and the Hoyas will be among the bustling droves as they travel to Bridgeport, Conn., Wednesday for an out-of-conference contest with the Fairfield Stags.

Before a tough loss to Old Dominion on Sunday night at McDonough Gymnasium, the Hoyas (2-1) hoped the Stags (2-5) would serve as an enticing appetizer of venison before they dug into their turkey legs on Thursday, but after being humbled by the Monarchs, a win over struggling Fairfield could serve as a comforting serving of chicken soup.

The upset loss was a disappointing one for the now-No.14 Hoyas, who could not recover from a blistering 13-2 second-half Old Dominion run. In the days following the team’s first loss in cDonough since his father guided the 1982 squad to the Final Four, Thompson could glean few immediate positives from his team’s disheartening stumble, but did his best to show some optimism.

“Will this help us in the long run?” Thompson said after the game Sunday night, pondering the fortunes of a young season. “I sure as hell hope so.”

The long run begins Wednesday with the short trip to the Arena at Harbor Yard. Georgetown has dominated Fairfield in the past, compiling an overall record of 13-4 against the Stags, including a 76-51 drubbing last season at Verizon Center. The last time Fairfield claimed victory over a Hilltop basketball squad was in the elder Thompson’s second season in 1974.

In order for the Hoyas to rebound, team leaders Jeff Green must, well, rebound.

Despite an undersized lineup, the Monarchs managed to control the battle of the boards, collecting 35 caroms to Hibbert and Co.’s 28. Hibbert, who stands 7-foot-2, should have no trouble limiting the Stags’ leading rebounder, senior forward arty O’Sullivan, who averages over 10 boards a game but is a miniscule 6-foot-7.

Another problem for the Hoyas in the Monarch massacre Sunday night was a lack of three-point marksmanship, as Old Dominion outshot Thompson’s bunch all night long. Junior guard Jonathan Wallace was timid to pull the trigger from beyond the arc, and Thompson believes the lack of assertiveness from Wallace, sophomore guard Jessie Sapp and sophomore forward Mark Egerson led to the team’s overall demise.

“Jon has to be aggressive for us,” a beleaguered Thompson said in his post-game press conference. “Mark and Jessie missed a few early and then got stagnant.”

In order for the Hoyas to prevent such stagnancy against the Stags on Wednesday night, Green must stay out of foul trouble early and remain on the floor late. Green racked up three quick fouls in the first half, forcing Thompson to sit him and limiting his aggressiveness for the rest of the game. As the team’s third-leading scorer and unquestioned floor leader, Green must do better than his two-point scoring tally Sunday night in order for the Hoyas to compete.

“When Jeff’s off, we’re off,” Thompson said. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out.”

Green will go head-to-head with the Stags’ leading scorer, forward Greg Nero, who, despite being only a freshman, is lighting up the scoreboard for an average of 18 points per game.

First-year Fairfield Head Coach Ed Cooley may play it cool by employing a zone defense to thwart Green and sophomore Marc Egerson. The Hoyas toiled to work around a tough zone scheme in their loss to Old Dominion and in a sloppy win over Hartford Nov. 11.

The absence of junior swingman Tyler Crawford, who as of Monday was still in the hospital with an illness and awaiting tests, has done nothing to help the Hoyas. Should the Hoyas struggle against the Stags on Wednesday night, Crawford won’t be the only one feeling queasy come Thursday.

“It is still early, and we have a long way to go,” Thompson said firmly Sunday night.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport.