Archive: January, 2012
Bob Vetrone Jr.
On Dec. 1 — six weeks ago Thursday — the Eagles were handed their you-know-what by the Seahawks in Seattle, 31-14. Since then, the Birds — and pretty much every other major sports team in the city — have been on a roll.
The three pro teams and the six men's Division I teams are a combined 64-28-1 since Dec. 2. That's a winning percentage of .694.
| Team | Since Dec. 2 |
| Eagles | 4- 0 |
| Flyers | 13- 5- 1 |
| Sixers | 7- 2 |
| City 6 | 40-21 |
| Drexel | 9- 3 |
| La Salle | 9- 1 |
| Penn | 3- 5 |
| Saint Joseph's | 7- 3 |
| Temple | 8- 2 |
| Villanova | 4- 7 |
| Totals | 64-28- 1 |
| (Pct.) | (.694) |
Bob Vetrone Jr.
For the first time in its 17-year affiliation with the Atlantic 10, La Salle (2-0, 13-4) finds itself in sole possession of first place in the conference.
Here is their year-by-year finish since joining the A10 for the 1995-96 season:
| Season | Overall | League | A10 Finish |
| 1995-96 | 6-24 | 3-13 | t-5th (West) |
| 1996-97 | 10-17 | 5-11 | t-5th (West) |
| 1997-98 | 9-18 | 5-11 | t-4th (West) |
| 1998-99 | 13-15 | 8- 8 | 3rd (West) |
| 1999-00 | 11-17 | 5-11 | 5th (West) |
| 2000-01 | 12-17 | 5-11 | 8th |
| 2001-02 | 15-17 | 6-10 | 4th (West) |
| 2002-03 | 13-16 | 6-10 | 4th (West) |
| 2003-04 | 10-20 | 5-11 | 6th (West) |
| 2004-05 | 10-19 | 5-11 | t-5th (West) |
| 2005-06 | 18-10 | 10- 6 | t-3rd |
| 2006-07 | 10-20 | 3-13 | 14th |
| 2007-08 | 15-17 | 8- 8 | t-7th |
| 2008-09 | 18-13 | 9- 7 | t-5th |
| 2009-10 | 12-18 | 4-12 | 13th |
| 2010-11 | 15-18 | 6-10 | t-10th |
Bob Vetrone Jr.
The Knicks' victory Wednesday snapped the Sixers winning streak at six games.
It was the 76th time in franchise history (including the time spent as the Syracuse Nationals) the club had a winning streak of six or more games. Below is how they breakdown:
(Special thanks to the play index page at basketball-reference.com, which makes finding stuff like this possible.)
| Wins | Times | Last Occurence |
| 18 | 1 | March 3 to Nov. 4, 1966 |
| 14 | 1 | Dec. 21, 1982 to Jan. 21, 1983 |
| 13 | 1 | Dec. 22, 1984 to Jan. 16, 1985 |
| 12 | 3 | Jan. 13, 1990 to Feb. 5, 1990 |
| 11 | 3 | April 18, 2000 to Nov. 20, 2000 |
| 10 | 7 | Feb. 6, 1983 to March 1, 1983 |
| 9 | 11 | Feb. 12, 2003 to March 2, 2003 |
| 8 | 7 | Nov. 20, 2002 to Dec. 4, 2002 |
| 7 | 19 | Jan. 6, 2009 to Jan. 17, 2009 |
| 6 | 23 | Dec. 31, 2011 to Jan. 10, 2012 |
Bob Vetrone Jr.
Tuesday, Peter Laviolette (above) became the ninth Flyers' coach to reach 100 regular season victories with the Orange and Black.
Only Mike Keenen (152) and Pat Quinn (171) did it in fewer games than Laviolette (180).
Fred Shero, the club's all-time leader with 308 wins, is the only coach to reach 200. Mike Keenan's 190 is second-best in club history.
Bob Vetrone Jr.
When Villanova hosts Syracuse Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center, it will mark the 54th time a Philly college has played the AP's top-ranked team. They are 8-45 so far, with the Wildcats registering five of those victories:
| Date | School | Opponent | Location/Site | Result |
| March 21, 1949 | Villanova | vs. Kentucky | *New York, N.Y. | L 72- 85 |
| Jan. 7, 1950 | Saint Joseph's | at St. John's | New York, N.Y. | L 58- 96 |
| Jan. 31, 1953 | Villanova | Seton Hall | Palestra | L 76- 84 |
| Feb. 16, 1953 | Villanova | at Seton Hall | South Orange, N.J. | L 68- 83 |
| Dec. 22, 1954 | La Salle | at Kentucky | Lexington, Ky. | L 54- 63 |
| Jan. 1, 1955 | Temple | at Kentucky | Lexington, Ky. | L 69-101 |
| March 19, 1955 | La Salle | San Francisco | *Kansas City | L 63- 77 |
| Dec. 26, 1955 | La Salle | vs. San Francisco | New York, N.Y. | L 62- 79 |
| Jan. 8, 1958 | Villanova | West Virginia | Palestra | L 75- 76 |
| Feb. 21, 1959 | Villanova | at North Carolina St. | Raleigh, N.C. | L 56- 66 |
| Dec. 11, 1959 | Saint Joseph's | at Cincinnati | Cincinnati, Ohio | L 79-123 |
| Dec. 28, 1959 | Saint Joseph's | vs. Cincinnati | New York, N.Y. | L 77- 86 |
| March 24, 1961 | Saint Joseph's | vs. Ohio St. | *Kansas City, Mo. | L 69- 95 |
| March 27, 1971 | Villanova | vs. UCLA | *Houston, Texas | L 62- 68 |
| Dec. 5, 1978 | La Salle | at Duke | Durham, N.C. | L 42- 66 |
| Feb. 18, 1980 | La Salle | at DePaul | Chicago | L 75- 92 |
| March 14, 1981 | Saint Joseph's | vs. DePaul | *Dayton, Ohio | W 49- 48 |
| March 21, 1982 | Villanova | vs. North Carolina | *Raleigh, N.C. | L 60- 70 |
| Feb. 13, 1983 | Villanova | at North Carolina | Chapel Hill, N.C. | W 56- 53 |
| March 27, 1983 | Villanova | vs. Houston | *Kansas City, Mo. | L 71- 89 |
| March 17, 1984 | Temple | vs. North Carolina | *Charlotte, N.C. | L 66- 77 |
| Jan. 12, 1985 | Villanova | Georgetown | Spectrum | L 50- 52 |
| Feb. 9, 1985 | Villanova | St. John's | Spectrum | L 68- 70 |
| March 16, 1985 | Temple | vs. Georgetown | *Hartford, Conn. | L 46- 63 |
| April 1, 1985 | Villanova | vs. Georgetown | *Lexington, Ky. | W 66- 64 |
| Feb. 10, 1988 | Villanova | at Temple | McGonigle Hall | L 86- 98 |
| Dec. 2, 1989 | Temple | at Syracuse | Syracuse, N.Y. | L 56- 73 |
| Jan. 6, 1990 | Villanova | at Syracuse | Syracuse, N.Y. | W 93- 74 |
| Dec. 8, 1994 | Villanova | at North Carolina | Chapel Hill, N.C. | L 66- 75 |
| Jan. 14, 1995 | Penn | at Massachusetts | Amherst, Mass. | L 60- 93 |
| Jan. 21, 1995 | Temple | at Massachusetts | Amherst, Mass. | L 58- 59 |
| Feb. 18, 1995 | Villanova | at Connecticut | Storrs, Conn. | W 96- 73 |
| Dec. 22, 1995 | Temple | vs. Kansas | East Rutherford, N.J. | W 74- 66 (ot) |
| Feb. 1, 1995 | Saint Joseph's | at Massachusetts | Amherst, Mass. | L 62- 74 |
| Jan. 10, 1996 | Saint Joseph's | Massachusetts | Fieldhouse | L 89- 94 (ot) |
| Feb. 1, 1996 | Temple | Massachusetts | McGonigle Hall | L 35- 59 |
| Feb. 11, 1996 | Temple | at Massachusetts | Amherst, Mass. | L 55- 84 |
| Feb. 15, 1996 | La Salle | at Massachusetts | Amherst, Mass. | L 53- 70 |
| Dec. 10, 1997 | Villanova | at Duke | Durham, N.C. | L 66- 94 |
| Dec. 30, 1998 | Villanova | at Connecticut | Hartford, Conn. | L 76-100 |
| March 21, 1999 | Temple | Duke | *East Rutherford, N.J. | L 64- 85 |
| Feb. 20, 2000 | Temple | at Cincinnati | Cincinnati, Ohio | W 77- 69 |
| Nov. 24, 2000 | Temple | vs. Duke | New York, N.Y. | L 61- 63 |
| Dec. 2, 2000 | Temple | Duke | First Union Center | L 68- 93 |
| Dec. 5, 2001 | Temple | at Duke | Durham, N.C. | L 57- 82 |
| Nov. 23, 2005 | Drexel | vs. Duke | New York, N.Y. | L 68- 78 |
| Dec. 7, 2005 | Penn | at Duke | Durham, N.C. | L 59- 72 |
| Feb. 13, 2006 | Villanova | Connecticut | Wachovia Center | W 69- 64 |
| Feb. 25, 2006 | Temple | Duke | Wachovia Center | L 66- 74 |
| Dec. 4, 2007 | Penn | North Carolina | Palestra | L 71-106 |
| Dec. 12, 2009 | La Salle | at Kansas | Kansas City, Mo. | L 65- 90 |
| Jan. 2, 2010 | Temple | Kansas | Liacouras Center | L 52- 84 |
| Feb. 23, 2011 | Temple | at Duke | Durham, N.C. | L 61- 78 |
Bob Vetrone Jr.
Sixers have been outscored in the first period this season, but are up by 720-575 after that.
Their season point total increases in each quarter.
Through Tuesday:
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |
| Sixers | 194 | 220 | 244 | 256 |
| Opponents | 195 | 179 | 184 | 212 |
Bob Vetrone Jr.
The Sixers not only have the NBA's longest current winning streak (five games), but are also leading the league in opponents field goal percentage (39.1%), opponents points per game (85.6) and point differential (+14.7), which we'll focus on here.
Only the Sixers and Heat are in double figures in "point diff" and their current mark would be a club record for an entire season. Here are the NBA leaders through Monday and the best the Sixers' franchise has put up:
| CURRENT NBA LEADERS | ||||
| Team | Points | Opp. | Diff. | W-L |
| Sixers | 100.3 | 85.6 | +14.7 | 6-2 |
| Heat | 108.3 | 96.6 | +11.7 | 8-1 |
| Bulls | 96.3 | 86.6 | +9.7 | 8-2 |
| Nuggets | 101.7 | 95.8 | +5.9 | 6-3 |
| Hawks | 99.6 | 92.1 | +7.5 | 7-3 |
| Trail Blazers | 99.0 | 93.3 | +5.7 | 6-2 |
The Sixers' franchise-best point differential seasons (SN denotes the club was still in Syracuse as the Nationals):
| Season | Points | Opp. | Diff. | W-L |
| 1966-67 | 125.2 | 115.8 | +9.4 | 68-13 |
| 1967-68 | 122.6 | 114.0 | +8.6 | 62-20 |
| 1949-50 (SN) | 84.8 | 76.7 | +8.1 | 51-13 |
| 1980-81 | 111.7 | 103.8 | +7.9 | 62-20 |
| 1982-83 | 112.1 | 104.4 | +7.7 | 65-17 |
| 1962-63 (SN) | 121.6 | 115.6 | +6.0 | 45-30 |
| 1981-82 | 111.2 | 105.5 | +5.7 | 58-24 |
| 1977-78 | 114.7 | 109.6 | +5.1 | 55-27 |
| 1968-69 | 118.9 | 113.8 | +5.1 | 55-27 |
| 1989-90 | 110.2 | 105.2 | +5.0 | 53-29 |
Bob Vetrone Jr.
On Saturday, Danny Briere registered the 187th hat trick (including postseason) in Flyers history. But it was only the fourth of those done in a game in which no other Flyers scored.
Those four:
| Date | Player | Opponent | Results | 1st Goal | 2nd Goal | 3rd Goal |
| March 28, 1974 |
Bobby Clarke |
at Flames |
T 3-3 |
1st (1:06) SH |
2nd (5:40) PP |
3rd (9:00) SH |
| Oct. 8, 1989 | Rick Tocchet | at Jets | L 3-5 | 2nd (19:06) EV |
3rd (7:07) EV |
3rd (18:21) EV |
| Feb. 2, 2008 |
Mike Knuble |
Ducks |
W 3-0 |
2nd (5:46) EV |
2nd (19:50) PP |
3rd (5:57) EV |
| Jan. 7, 2012 |
Danny Briere |
Senators |
W 3-2 (ot) |
1st (11:05) EV |
3rd (9:12) pp |
OT (4:54) EV |
Bob Vetrone Jr.
It is time for the Delaware Valley to wake up and take notice of one of the greatest individual seasons in the area's history.
Thursday night, Wilmington's own Elena Delle Donne (left) became the University of Delaware's all-time leading women's scorer — as a junior!
Throw in 58% percent shooting from the floor, 51% percent from the arc, nearly 10 rebounds a game and 2.8 blocked shots and you really have something to talk about. To be fair, she has let her free throw percentage suffer ... 92.9%, down from 94.4% last year.
Bob Vetrone Jr.
Thanks in no large part to the Pistons' 0-for-10 shooting from the arc Friday night, the Sixers are now holding their opponents under 30.0% on three-point field-goal percentage for the season.
| Date | Opponent | Result | 3FG | Pct. | Season | Pct. |
| Dec. 26 | at Trail Blazers | L 103-107 | 9-19 | .474 | 9-19 | .474 |
| Dec. 28 | at Suns | W 103- 83 | 2-11 | .182 | 11-30 | .367 |
| Dec. 30 | at Jazz | L 99-102 | 6-16 | .375 | 17-46 | .370 |
| Dec. 31 | at Warriors | W 107- 79 | 4-17 | .235 | 21-63 | .333 |
| Jan. 4 | at Hornets | W 101- 93 | 3-10 | .300 | 24-73 | .329 |
| Jan. 6 | Pistons | W 96-73 | 0-10 | .000 | 24-83 | .289 |
