La Salle
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Boy, this week's rankings are all over the place. Villanova and Temple are still 1-2, but the Owls snatched a first-place vote on the basis of the Wildcats' loss.
Princeton is up to fifth, St. Joe's is ninth and Penn State just barely edged out Bucknell for 11th.
All the way at the bottom, Penn's upset of Cornell didn't just propel the Quakers out of the cellar for the first time since December 2, it pushed them two spots up to 14th.
Now Penn sits above Delaware, which strikes me as crazy, but that's democracy for you.
Here's a question to discuss, especially as we get ready for Temple-St. Joe's at the Palestra on Saturday: Will the Hawks make the Atlantic 10 Tournament? After tonight's loss at Xavier, the Hawks are in 13th place in the conference with a 3-9 record, half a game back of 3-8 St. Bonaventure. The bottom two teams of the 14 miss out.
It's a good thing that Fordham is 0-12, or there would be at least a slim chance that both St. Joe's and La Salle could finish at the bottom of the standings. At least one of the teams will make it to the first round.
Here we go:
1. Villanova, 14 points (12 first-place votes)
- "Apparently the Wildcats' defense stayed on campus Monday night instead of making the trek down to the Wachovia Center." (Mario Machi)
2. Temple, 25 points (1 first-place vote)
3. Drexel, 47 points
- "How good is the CAA?!? Drexel might be better off in the ACC than the CAA, at least for this year." (Mario Machi)
4. Rutgers, 55 points
- "I feel so uneasy listing Rutgers third in this week's poll that I am using the comment box to share this discomfort with the world." (Jon Solomon)
- "You may want to sit down for this one. Rutgers' game with UConn Saturday could have major implications on who gets a bye in the Big East Tournament. I'm not even sure their fans remember how to get to MSG." (Jeff Shafer)
5. Princeton, 65 points
- "Princeton has held every Ivy League opponent under 55 points, and now has a legitimate shot at winning back the crown for the P's." (Max Wheeling)
6. La Salle, 84 points
- "If you combined La Salle's and Penn's walking wounded to form a Big 5 All-Injury team, how many games would they win (healthy, of course)? Seriously, doesn't Dr. John have some managers or walk-ons who can suit up? " (Jeff Shafer)
7. Rider, 107 points
8. Lehigh, 119 points
- "Lehigh has a good chance at being Kentucky's punching bag in the first round of the Tournament." (Jon Mozes)
9. Saint Joseph's, 120 points (1 last-place vote)
10. Lafayette, 139 points
11. Penn State, 150 points (3 last-place votes)
- "Big Ten basketball stinks. Penn State has zero Big Ten wins. By the transitive property, Penn State is last in the Schuylkill 16." (Joe McNamara)
- "Perhaps my Nitts could win a conference game if they moved back to the A-10." (Tim AumAn)
Comment of the week:
- "Penn State will probably wake up in Chicago on Thursday just like Nick Catrambone did on a recent visit to Chi-town: they won't be quite sure what city they're in, they'll have a headache and they'll know they didn't score enough last night." (Daniel Simpson Day)
12. Bucknell, 151 points
13. Delaware State, 157 points (1 last-place vote)
- "I can't believe I missed out on Lehigh-Delaware State. Only 172 lucky people got to see the MEAC vs. the Patriot League in the ultimate Culture Shock Game." (Todd Falkenberg)
14. Penn, 166 points (1 last-place vote)
- "Sure, Penn is still not a very good basketball team, but how many other squads in the area have a top 25 win to their credit?" (Fred David)
- "My apologies to the Quakers. They've finally found a way to bump my write-in candidate, Neumann-Goretti High School, out of the rankings. That's what a win over Cornell will do. The Palestra was rocking like it was 2007!" (Mario Machi)
15. Delaware, 174 points
16. Monmouth, 195 points (6 last-place votes)
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Yes, this really just happened. And no, I can't believe it either.
Behind 24 points from Jack Eggleston and 22 from Zack Rosen, Penn upset two-time defending Ivy League champion Cornell at the Palestra, 79-64. The Quakers shot 56.5 percent from the field and won at home for the first time since February 28, 2009 - a span of 351 days.
Penn was 11-for-21 from three and 27-for-48 from the field overall. Cornell shot 56.5 percent from the field (13-for-23) in the first half, but only 33.3 percent (10-for-30) in the second.
City Six rankings table
|
Team
|
Record
|
Conf.
|
Big
5
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Drexel
|
14-12
|
9-5
|
1-2
|
104
(104)
|
101
(104)
|
111
(111)
|
123
(123)
|
105
(107)
|
|
La
Salle
|
11-12
|
3-6
|
1-1
|
137
(124)
|
120
(97)
|
134
(120)
|
161
(144)
|
87
(71)
|
|
Penn
|
3-15
|
2-2
|
0-4
|
319
(324)
|
305
(316)
|
325
(328)
|
301
(308)
|
165
(160)
|
|
St.
Joseph's
|
9-15
|
3-7
|
2-1
|
182
(186)
|
179
(179)
|
177
(187)
|
190
(193)
|
59
(42)
|
|
Temple
|
19-5
|
7-2
|
2-0
|
43
(34)
|
16
(17)
|
24
(18)
|
33
(26)
|
46 (48)
|
| Villanova |
21-2
|
10-1
|
3-1
|
11
(13)
|
3
(4)
|
4
(4)
|
5
(5)
|
13
(36)
|
Schuylkill 16 NCAA Tournament teamsheets
|
Team
|
Wins |
Losses |
Top
50 wins
|
201+
losses
|
Avg.
win
|
Avg.
loss
|
10 |
15 |
0
|
8
|
288
|
183
|
|
7 |
18 |
0
|
4
|
220 |
108
|
|
| Delaware St. | 12 |
9 |
0
|
2
|
213
|
157
|
14 |
12 |
0
|
1
|
203
|
89
|
|
11 |
12 |
0
|
1
|
235 |
52
|
|
| Lafayette | 14 |
10 |
0
|
5
|
284
|
193
|
15 |
9 |
0
|
4
|
277
|
192
|
|
10 |
15 |
0
|
6
|
277
|
202
|
|
3 |
15 |
0
|
7
|
312
|
164
|
|
| Penn State | 8 |
15 |
0
|
3 |
241
|
97
|
| Princeton | 13 |
5 |
0
|
1
|
231
|
134
|
| Rider | 14 |
12 |
0
|
1
|
231
|
111
|
| Rutgers | 12 |
12 |
0
|
0
|
178
|
52
|
| Saint Joseph's | 9 |
15 |
1
|
0
|
195
|
83
|
| Temple | 19 |
5 |
4
|
0
|
143
|
34
|
| Villanova | 21 |
2 |
6
|
0
|
115
|
12
|
Big East, Atlantic 10, CAA and Ivy League
|
Team
|
Wins |
Losses |
Top
50 wins
|
201+
losses
|
Avg.
win
|
Avg.
loss
|
| Connecticut | 14 |
10 |
1
|
0
|
129
|
46
|
| Georgetown | 18 |
5 |
5
|
0
|
118
|
31
|
| Marquette | 15 |
8 |
2 |
0 |
173 |
43 |
| Pittsburgh | 18 |
6 |
3 |
1 |
120 |
61 |
| South Florida | 15 |
8 |
2
|
0
|
144
|
60
|
24 |
1 |
5
|
0
|
114
|
18
|
|
19 |
4 |
6
|
0
|
104
|
19
|
|
| Charlotte | 18 |
6 |
3
|
0
|
183
|
25
|
| Dayton | 17 |
6 |
4
|
0
|
146
|
40
|
19 |
4 |
2
|
0
|
142
|
31
|
|
| Richmond | 19 |
6 |
4
|
0
|
148
|
56
|
| Xavier | 16 |
7 |
3
|
0
|
138
|
24
|
| George Mason | 16 |
9 |
1
|
2
|
208
|
114
|
| Northeastern | 17 |
8 |
2
|
0
|
158
|
88
|
| Old Dominion | 19 |
7 |
2
|
0
|
169
|
57
|
| Cornell | 20 |
3 |
0
|
0
|
187
|
23
|
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
For the first time since December 9, Villanova is the unanimous No. 1 team in the Schuylkill 16 rankings.
Temple is the unanimous No. 2, and Drexel is up to No. 3. I wonder what would have happened had Temple not lost at Richmond, but even if they had, Villanova's win at West Virginia was really impressive.
Depending on how much snow is on the ground, I'll put together a new stats compilation today or tomorrow. I'll be at Drexel and Temple on Saturday, including a live blog of the Owls' big game against Rhode Island. It's Hooter's birthday, so there will be plenty of mascot photos.
(I know some of you are really fond of that.)
I'll also be at Cornell-Penn Friday night at the Palestra. It will be very interesting to see whether there are more Big Red fans in the house than Penn fans. I wouldn't be surprised if that's the case.
Between now and then, though, we have ESPN's so-called "Rivalry Week." Syracuse-Connecticut and Duke-North Carolina should be there, of course. But it's funny how Villanova-Georgetown and Temple-St. Joe's both missed the cut by a few days each.
The New York Times' John Temple and MSNBC.com's Mike Miller both pay tribute to the Big 5 in their respective lists of college basketball's top rivalries. It would be nice if the City Series got more national love in the future. Maybe this season's exciting Holy War will get that game back on ESPN next season.
With that, let's get to this week's rankings.
1. Villanova, 16 points (16 first-place votes)
- "Fortunately for 'Nova, West Virginia's basketball players aren't as accurate shooting the ball as its fans are when throwing quarters at opposing coaches. " (Mario Machi)
2. Temple, 32 points
- "I almost gave the Owls the top spot as an early birthday to Hooter." (Mario Machi)
3. Drexel, 62 points
- "Had more wins than the entire Big 5 this past weekend." (Rob Falcone)
4. La Salle, 89 points
5. Princeton, 95 points
- "A six-game winning streak has to mean something, right? No? Okay, never mind." (Nick Catrambone)
- "A big win over Harvard last week practically clinches the Ivy League for Cornell. I feel smarter just for typing that sentence." (Mario Machi)
Well, not quite - the Tigers host Cornell Saturday night and could make life very difficult for the Big Red.
6. Rutgers, 99 points (1 last-place vote)
- "The Scarlet Knights are running a 2 tickets, 2 hot dogs, 2 sodas for $20 special for the upcoming game against Georgetown. I would probably take the two dogs and two sodas and then find a sports bar nearby to watch a more competitive game." (Mario Machi)
- "Rutgers should be required to give up their spot in the Big East Tournament to the Connecticut women. I guarantee better attendance." (Brian O'Neill)
And our rant of the week...
- "Rutgers just knocked off Caldwell by 8 points. I don't need to tell a well-learned man like Tannenwald that Caldwell is a Dominican school in Jersey that has now lost six straight thanks to poor scheduling. It's not the coaches or players fault that the AD has them running through the gauntlet of Nyack College and Felician College. Rutgers was a reprieve for them as they played Rutgers closer than they did their previous three opponents." (Todd Falkenberg)
t-7. Rider, 132 points
- "No. 4 in my poll, because the voting system doesn't let me obstain." (Nick Catrambone)
t-7. Saint Joseph's, 132 points
- "I never thought there would be a day where I'd be happy that Saint Joseph's managed a split against St. Bonaventure." (Brian O'Neill)
9. Lehigh, 135 points
- "Lehigh managed to sweep the season series from American U this weekend, but that gets you no bump in my poll... because American lost to Maryland-Eastern Shore. UMES stinks." (Daniel Simpson Day)
Just don't rip on Princess Anne.
10. Penn State, 146 points (2 last-place votes)
- "I am going to look like a genius for putting Penn State last when Penn matches their win total by the end of the season." (Brian Ewart)
- "What happens first? The snow melts in Philadelphia or the Nittany Lions win a Big Ten game?" (Mario Machi)
11. Lafayette, 160 points
12. Bucknell, 192 points
13. Delaware, 202 points
- "Delaware broke up the monotony of losing by beating another CAA cellar-dweller this week. Now, the only thing left to do is to find a comeback for Drexel's chicken-suit gag." (Brian Ewart)
14. Delaware State, 204 points
- "The Delaware State vs. Morgan State game next week might almost be watchable." (Nick Catrambone)
15. Monmouth, 234 points (5 last-place votes)
- "Monmouth lost two games to Fairleigh Dickinson this week. The combined attendance of the two games: 891. I will rank them last and feel fairly certain that nobody will care enough to object. " (Todd Falkenberg)
16. Penn, 246 points (8 last-place votes)
- "Despite being 3-14 Penn was 2-1 and third in the Ivy League for 24 hours. That's the beauty of Ancient Eight basketball." (Zach Klitzman)
- "I don't think it is a coincidence that Penn has begun to win games the same week that one of the Penn blogs releases a weekly sex column." (Todd Falkenberg)
Write-ins
Saint Louis
-"The Billikens are only one win away from a Big 5 title and they get Temple at home. I vote we put them in the poll on the merits of Rick Majerus' diction alone." (Jeff Shafer)
Neumann-Goretti High School
- "Another week, another pair of blowout victories. And with St. Patrick's (N.J.) having its coach suspended this week, the Saints are in prime position to move up, as St. Patrick's was ranked ahead of them in the national polls." (Mario Machi)
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Corrected after nayr83 pointed out in the comments that La Salle at Temple wasn't an official Big 5 game. The official schedule is here, if you're wondering.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - For as much as I enjoy train travel, five hours is a long time to sit and look out the window. So as my train to Boston makes its way north, I've spent the afternoon putting together a longer-than-usual stats compilation.
In addition to the usual Schuylkill 16 data, you'll see teamsheet summaries for the top teams in all six BCS conferences (yes, the Pac-10 still counts), the Atlantic 10, the CAA and the Ivy League.
These numbers don't come close to painting a complete picture of the college basketball landscape, but they might make you think twice about which teams deserve at-large bids and which don't.
As for my whereabouts, I'll be at Princeton-Harvard tonight and Penn-Harvard tomorrow, covering the latter game for Sunday's Inquirer. I'll probably live-tweet Penn's game from courtside at Lavietes Pavilion, so stay tuned.
And for those of you keeping score, my streak of having never covered Wing Bowl is still alive. I'm sure it will end one of these years, but at least for now it continues.
Good luck dealing with the blizzard, especially those of you trying to get to Washington for Villanova-Georgetown tomorrow. At the moment, it looks like New England won't get hit as hard as the Mid-Atlantic.
But I'm sure that having typed those words, we'll be slammed right as I'm trying to leave town Sunday morning.
Let's start our rundown with some interesting tidbits about the City Six teams.
- Drexel is 275th nationally in effective field goal percentage and 15th in effective field goal percentage given up.
- La Salle is 285th in turnover percentage committed and 327th in turnover percentage forced.
- Penn is 320th in effective field goal percentage and 340th in effective field goal percentage given up.
- Saint Joseph's is 322nd in offensive rebounding percentage and 342nd in offensive rebounding percentage given up.
- Temple is 11th in turnover percentage committed and 257th in turnover percentage forced.
- Villanova is third in offensive effiency and 60th in defensive efficiency.
Now for the tables:
City Six rankings table
|
Team
|
Record
|
Conf.
|
Big
5
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Drexel
|
13-11
|
8-4
|
1-2
|
104
(146)
|
104
(119)
|
111
(140)
|
123
(153)
|
107
(126)
|
|
La
Salle
|
11-11
|
3-5
|
1-1
|
124
(126)
|
97
(111)
|
120
(124)
|
144
(137)
|
71
(82)
|
|
Penn
|
2-14
|
1-1
|
0-4
|
322
(324)
|
316
(316)
|
328
(332)
|
308
(321)
|
160
(122)
|
|
St.
Joseph's
|
8-14
|
2-6
|
2-1
|
186
(174)
|
179
(139)
|
187
(166)
|
193
(156)
|
42
(35)
|
|
Temple
|
19-4
|
7-1
|
2-0
|
34
(30)
|
17
(12)
|
18
(15)
|
26
(25)
|
48 (28)
|
| Villanova |
20-1
|
9-0
|
3-1
|
13
(14)
|
4
(4)
|
4
(5)
|
5
(7)
|
36
(44)
|
Schuylkill 16 NCAA Tournament teamsheets
|
Team
|
Top
50 wins
|
201+
losses
|
Avg.
win
|
Avg.
loss
|
|
0
|
7
|
285
|
177
|
|
|
0
|
4
|
219 |
112
|
|
| Delaware St. |
0
|
1
|
205
|
139
|
|
1
|
1
|
211
|
79
|
|
|
0
|
1
|
230 |
44
|
|
| Lafayette |
0
|
3
|
291
|
168
|
|
3
|
2
|
276
|
167
|
|
|
0
|
5
|
279
|
197
|
|
|
0
|
6
|
310
|
168
|
|
| Penn State |
0
|
3 |
243
|
100
|
| Princeton |
0
|
1
|
231
|
125
|
| Rider |
0
|
1
|
231
|
101
|
| Rutgers |
0
|
0
|
191
|
51
|
| Saint Joseph's |
1
|
0
|
200
|
80
|
| Temple |
4
|
0
|
142
|
32
|
| Villanova |
4
|
0
|
120
|
17
|
Big East, Atlantic 10, CAA and Ivy League
|
Team
|
Top
50 wins
|
201+
losses
|
Avg.
win
|
Avg.
loss
|
| Connecticut |
1
|
0
|
123
|
47
|
| Georgetown |
5
|
0
|
120
|
31
|
| South Florida |
2
|
0
|
141
|
59
|
|
5
|
0
|
116
|
22
|
|
|
6
|
0
|
107
|
27
|
|
| Charlotte |
2
|
0
|
181
|
23
|
| Dayton |
2
|
0
|
163
|
39
|
|
2
|
0
|
143
|
31
|
|
| Richmond |
2
|
0
|
162
|
59
|
| Xavier |
4
|
0
|
136
|
25
|
| George Mason |
1
|
2
|
218
|
55
|
| Northeastern |
1
|
0
|
158
|
82
|
| Old Dominion |
2
|
0
|
151
|
48
|
| William & Mary |
1
|
0
|
171
|
35
|
| Cornell |
3
|
0
|
136
|
37
|
| Harvard | 0 |
1 |
209 |
79 |
Other conferences
Team |
Top
50 wins |
201+
losses |
Avg.
win |
Avg.
loss |
| Duke | 8 |
0 |
109 |
38 |
| Maryland | 2 |
0 |
160 |
28 |
| North Carolina | 2 |
0 |
166 |
39 |
| Virginia | 2 |
1 |
162 |
105 |
| Kentucky | 4 |
0 |
119 |
61 |
| Tennessee | 3 |
0 |
135 |
52 |
| Vanderbilt | 3 |
0 |
114 |
70 |
| Baylor | 3 |
0 |
142 |
62 |
| Kansas | 7 |
0 |
117 |
23 |
| Kansas State | 6 |
0 |
112 |
31 |
| Texas | 5 |
0 |
141 |
27 |
| Texas A&M | 3 |
0 |
154 |
23 |
| Arizona | 1 |
0 |
130 |
65 |
| Arizona State | 1 |
0 |
183 |
48 |
| California | 0 |
0 |
142 |
47 |
| UCLA | 1 |
1 |
147 |
90 |
| Illinois | 1 |
0 |
180 |
68 |
| Michigan State | 2 |
0 |
143 |
39 |
| Northwestern | 1 |
0 |
182 |
32 |
| Ohio State | 4 |
0 |
167 |
51 |
| Purdue | 4 |
0 |
140 |
34 |
| Wisconsin | 3 |
0 |
128 |
43 |
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
First of all, you can follow tonight's games with our live scoreboards:
Duquesne at Temple
Richmond at Saint Joseph's
Penn State at Ohio State
Second, the Inquirer's Daily Sports Poll would like to know how far you think Villanova will go this season. I'm sure you'll vote early and often.
Given the high number of comments I get each week about Penn, I wondered if the Quakers' win at Brown over the weekend might bump them out of last place in this week's rankings.
- Poll: How far can Villanova go this season? (559 votes)
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
I'm working on Philly.com's sports desk, which means that for yet another night I'm not at any games. But at least I'm still employed, which counts for something from what I can tell.
To make up for it, you can follow all of tonight's action via our live stats pages.
Here are tonight's City Six results:
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
(In a conversational sense. Not on the basketball court, thankfully.)
Say what you will about ESPN's Jay Bilas, but he gets to see some pretty good games this week. After calling Georgetown-Syracuse last night, Bilas will be courtside at the Wachovia Center for Notre Dame-Villanova tomorrow. Then he'll head west to join the College GameDay crew at Bramlage Coliseum for Kansas State-Kansas on Saturday.
I spoke with Bilas for a few minutes this afternoon to get his thoughts on Villanova, Temple and some of the other big stories across the nation. I even got in a question about some mid-majors.
City Six rankings table
|
Team
|
Record
|
Conf.
|
Big
5
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Drexel
|
11-10
|
6-3
|
1-2
|
146
(165)
|
119
(117)
|
140
(150)
|
153
(175)
|
126
(78)
|
|
La
Salle
|
10-9
|
2-3
|
1-1
|
126
(131)
|
111
(102)
|
124
(123)
|
137
(134)
|
82
(42)
|
|
Penn
|
1-13
|
0-0
|
0-4
|
324
(317)
|
316
(305)
|
332
(330)
|
321
(317)
|
122
(69)
|
|
St.
Joseph's
|
8-11
|
2-3
|
2-1
|
174
(194)
|
139
(167)
|
166
(193)
|
156
(180)
|
35
(21)
|
|
Temple
|
17-3
|
5-0
|
2-0
|
30
(27)
|
12
(11)
|
15
(18)
|
25
(27)
|
28 (20)
|
| Villanova |
18-1
|
7-0
|
3-1
|
14
(19)
|
4
(5)
|
5
(6)
|
7
(11)
|
40
(44)
|
Schuylkill 16 NCAA Tournament teamsheets
|
Team
|
Top
50 wins
|
201+
losses
|
Avg.
win
|
Avg.
loss
|
|
0
|
5
|
314
|
172
|
|
|
0
|
4
|
225 |
114
|
|
| Delaware St. |
0
|
1
|
159
|
146
|
|
1
|
1
|
224
|
82
|
|
|
0
|
1
|
235
|
55
|
|
| Lafayette |
0
|
2
|
296
|
147
|
|
0
|
2
|
279
|
149
|
|
|
0
|
3
|
269
|
181
|
|
|
0
|
5
|
347
|
156
|
|
| Penn State |
0
|
2
|
248
|
106
|
| Princeton |
0
|
1
|
214
|
125
|
| Rider |
0
|
0
|
238
|
105
|
| Rutgers |
0
|
0
|
224
|
55
|
| St. Joseph's |
1
|
0
|
202
|
71
|
| Temple |
4
|
0
|
144
|
22
|
| Villanova |
4
|
0
|
126
|
11
|
Selected other teams
|
Team
|
Top
50 wins
|
201+
losses
|
Avg.
win
|
Avg.
loss
|
| Georgetown |
4
|
0
|
126
|
30
|
| Syracuse |
4
|
0
|
118
|
17
|
| West Virginia |
3
|
0
|
117
|
27
|
|
2
|
0
|
168
|
37
|
|
|
1
|
0
|
150
|
24
|
|
| Richmond |
2
|
0
|
166
|
61
|
| Xavier |
4
|
0
|
119
|
29
|
|
0
|
0
|
171
|
18
|
|
| Harvard |
1
|
1
|
205
|
76
|
| Kentucky |
2
|
0
|
134
|
n/a
|
| Kansas |
6
|
0
|
122
|
15
|
| Texas |
3
|
0
|
146
|
12
|
| Michigan State |
2
|
0
|
151
|
48
|
| Northwestern |
1
|
0
|
171
|
35
|
| Purdue |
3
|
0
|
136
|
37
|
| Wisconsin |
3
|
0
|
138
|
48
|
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Dick Jerardi was at the RAC last night to cover Villanova-Rutgers for the Daily News.
In his game recap, Jerardi made an assertion that should get us all talking:
This is Villanova basketball, 2009-10. You could make a really good argument that 1 through 11, this is the most talented team in Big 5 history.
Well now. I suspect that Chuck Daly and Harry Litwack would have something to say about that, not to mention Kenny Durrett.
And I'm not even sure this year's Wildcats are better than the Ray-Foye-Sumpter-Fraser squad of 2005.
Yeah, you heard me right. I've long believed that had Curtis Sumpter not blown out his knee in Nashville, that Villanova team would have made the Final Four. They certainly wouldn't have had to play North Carolina before the national semifinals. And the '05-'06 team would have been even better had Sumpter not torn his ACL a second time.
Is this year's 'Nova squad better than last year's, which did make the Final Four? We can probably agree that it is. What about the 1985 national championship team? We can probably agree that these Wildcats are better than those as well.
- Poll: Which is Villanova's best ever team? (286 votes)
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
I'm not at any games tonight, but three of this evening's four games are on TV. So I'll watch along with you.
Here are links to tonight's scores:
Temple 77, Xavier 72
La Salle 76, at Penn 57
at Drexel 78, James Madison 57
Villanova at Rutgers (8 p.m.)
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
There's a ton of stuff in the papers today. I would recommend reading Dick Jerardi's column about Lionel Simmons first, especially if you weren't in town during La Salle's glory days.
There's also some breaking news this afternoon from Philly Hoops Insider: Penn's basketball team has landed 6-8, 225-pound Archbishop Wood center Fran Dougherty. He'll play the power foward in college. More importantly, the Big 5 will add another name to the list of Frans who've played in the City Series.
Now for this week's rankings. Is it possible that St. Joe's can't fall any farther despite their struggles?
Reach Jonathan at jtannenwald@phillynews.com or 215-854-2330.
