Archive: December, 2008
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
As of now, there's no reason to think Temple won't recover in conference play, and the door is also open for St. Joe's and Penn State to rack up some wins.
But will anything be enough to knock Villanova out of first place? Maybe if the Wildcats lose a few games in a row, and you can't rule anything out in the Big East. I don't see it happening, though. Do you?
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Note: I originally posted this at the Inquirer's women's basketball blog, Women's Hoops Guru. I don't normally write about the women's game on here, but I do follow it and enjoy it. So I figured it would be nice to cross-post the story here and fill some time before Monday night's Temple-Villanova game. Remember that I'll be live-blogging it, and I invite you to join me for the 7 p.m. tipoff. Until then, enjoy what I think is a pretty interesting story from the local women's basketball scene.There are 342 teams competing at the Division I level of college basketball this season. Between them, there are a total of three Romanian players.
Naturally, two of them play at schools located four blocks apart.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Yesterday afternoon, I had the chance to speak with ESPN TV analyst Fran Fraschilla. He'll be the color analyst for the Villanova-Marquette game on New Year's Day, and although he's a New York native, he's very well-versed in the Big 5 as well as the national scene.
Indeed, before I could even ask Fraschilla a question, he told me that there's "nothing better than being at a Big 5 game with a soft pretzel and mustard."
The guy knows his audience.
We started by talking a bit about this coming Monday's big showdown between Temple and Villanova on the Main Line. Fraschilla gives the Wildcats the edge because the game is on their floor, but he's been impressed by the Owls' play so far this season.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
That's what happened last night, as Nivins poured in 26 points on 10-for-13 shooting in the Hawks' 71-67 win over Cornell.
From what we've seen so far this season, you can make a pretty fair case that the only team capable of stopping Nivins is St. Joe's itself. If the Hawks don't get him the ball and the guards struggle from the perimeter, Phil Martelli's team doesn't put too many points on the board.
Name |
Min |
FG |
FT |
3pt |
OR |
DR |
TR |
A |
S |
TO |
Blk |
PF |
Eff |
Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A. Nivins |
39 |
10-13 |
6-8 |
0-0 |
9 |
7 |
16 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
34 |
26 |
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
This time, it's the reigning conference champion Cornell Big Red, which beat La Salle in Ithaca, N.Y., on Saturday. As well as the Big Red played Saturday, a win down here would be a big upset. It would also make them 2-0 in the Big 5 this season, with a chance to record four wins against City Series teams this season.
If they do so, they'd have more Big 5 wins this season than Drexel did in 2007. Should we give them the Dragons' honorary city championship crown from that season if it happens?
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
There also weren't many pithy comments either, but at least I'm getting used to that.
Anyway, we soldier on. If you're interested in joining the voter group, feel free to email me and I'll add you to the list.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Flint was ejected from the Dragons’ game at Bucknell on December 20. He will sit out Monday afternoon’s contest between Drexel and the University of Memphis.
If you were there and can tell us what led to the ejection, please do. Thanks.
I'll be back tomorrow night with Schuylkill 16 results and live coverage of Cornell-St. Joe's.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Bard: What he [God] hath scanted men in hair, he hath given them in wit. (The Comedy of Errors)
The market research types tell me Philly.com readers like light reads at lunchtime. So there you go.
I'll be back Monday for Cornell-St. Joe's. I'm not sure how much liveblogging there will be, but I'll definitely open a chat and we can have at it.
Reach Jonathan at jtannenwald@phillynews.com or 215-854-2330.
