14-03-2025
The Big Dance is almost here. Will any of Philly's Big 5 be in it?
Say a prayer to the late great Temple University basketball head coach John Chaney. We're gonna need it.
Why it matters: It's looking like a long shot any Philly-area teams make the NCAA Tournament this year.
We know, we know. Officially, we gotta wait for Selection Sunday. But here's the rundown for Philly's Big 5:
Villanova
It's double-bubble toil and trouble for 'Nova's men's team. The Wildcats lost to the Huskies 73-56 in Thursday's Big East Tournament quarterfinals.
The Wildcats are projected as one of the final eight teams (the double-bubble, as they say) out of this year's tourney, per ESPN. It'd mark their third year in a row missing the Big Dance.
The Villanova women's (18-14 overall) lost to powerhouse UConn in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament.
😢 The Wildcats aren't on ESPN's radar.
Temple
The Owls' chances of making the tourney are looking grim after they lost to Tulsa on Thursday in the American Athletic Conference tourney.
Temple hasn't been to the Big Dance since since 2019.
Temple women's team lost to Rice for the second straight year in the AAC semifinals.
The Owls were 20-11 overall, but they're not a bubble team, per ESPN.
The bottom line: Lookin' like another fowl season for Hooter and co.
Drexel
Drexel's men are done after they were bounced in the quarterfinals of the Colonial Athletic Association tourney.
Meanwhile, Drexel women are still alive, squaring off against Monmouth Friday at 2:30pm.
They were our only hope last year. Will history repeat itself?
University of Pennsylvania
Here's all you need to know about the men's team: Their head coach was handed walking papers after nine seasons following his team's season-ending loss to Princeton.
The Quakers won only eight games and missed the Ivy League tourney for the second year.
The women's team faces top-seeded Columbia in the semifinals of the Ivy League tourney at 4:30pm Friday.
Columbia won both regular-season matchups.
St. Joseph's University
Sixth-seeded St. Joe's men's team hasn't won the Atlantic 10 tourney since 2016, it's looking to change that after defeating La Salle 75-70 on Thursday. Up next: Dayton on Friday at 7:30pm.
No. 6 seeds have fared well in the A-10, winning three of the last five tourneys.
The women lost out on an automatic bid after dropping the A-10 title game to George Mason.
La Salle University
As for the La Salle men: After that loss to the Hawks, cue Steph Curry's "night, night."
Ditto for the women after losing last week to Dayton.
