In winter of our discontent, at least we have college hoops

IT HAS BEEN the winter of Philadelphia sports fans' discontent, with none of our professional sports teams making the playoffs and no guarantees that things will get better in the future.

But believe it or not, things might be brightening up and there might be light at the end of the tunnel. The Flyers have rebounded and are playing excellent hockey and have a real shot of making the playoffs, which would be a great tribute to Ed Snider who has been a terrific owner and a great citizen of Philadelphia.

It is often said that Philadelphia is not a pro basketball town, but rather a hotbed of college hoops. I think we are both, but surely the Big 5 (or, more correct, the City 6) is unique among American cities. This year, things are looking up for the Big 5. We have three teams that, on any given day, can beat almost anyone in college basketball. They also are extremely entertaining to watch.

The Saint Joseph's Hawks, under the leadership of Phil Martelli, have had a tremendous turnaround season. They are 18-4 and in third place in the Atlantic 10, with a 7-2 mark. The Hawks have two truly outstanding players in forwards DeAndre' Bembry and Isaiah Miles. I thought the Hawks even had a chance to make the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team, but they suffered a bad loss at home against a mediocre St. Bonaventure team on Wednesday. So, if they are going to make it to the big dance, they'll have to win the A-10 Tournament, which is not an impossible task, because no team in the conference is clearly better than they are.

The Temple Owls' next win will make Fran Dunphy the winningest coach in Big 5 history, combining his wins at Penn and Temple. This season's Owls must be extremely frustrating for him. They are 13-8 and have several good wins over Minnesota, Cincinnati (twice) Connecticut, Tulsa and Southern Methodist. In fact, SMU, ranked eighth at the time, was unbeaten going into the Liacouras Center, and Temple won, 89-80. But the Owls also have lost eight games and, even though many of those losses were to marquee teams such as North Carolina, Butler, Utah and Wisconsin, eight losses probably will keep them from an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. As with St. Joe's, the only way for the Owls to join the big dance would be to win the American Athletic Conference Tournament, and since they've beaten all the good teams in their conference, that is a real possibility. The Owls' strength is in their depth. They rotate nine players, led by Quenton DeCosey. The Owls are especially dangerous because virtually everyone in that rotation can step up and score when needed.

One Big 5 team is certain to be a participant in this year's March Madness - the Villanova Wildcats. They are 19-3 and ranked third in the Associated Press poll. If the 'Cats can get through the rest of their schedule with no more than one or two loses and then win the Big East Tournament, they are likely to be a No. 1 seed. All three losses all have been against teams in the top 10 at some point this season - Oklahoma, Virginia and Providence. The 'Cats have beaten solid teams in Nebraska, Stanford, Georgia Tech, St. Joe's and Georgetown, but won only once against a top 10 team, when they blew away Xavier, 95-64.

So how far can the 'Cats go in the NCAA Tournament? It remains to be seen. Their strength is that virtually everyone in their lineup is a good shooter, especially from three-point range. They also seldom turn the ball over. But that is probably not surprising, because often they play with four guards among Ryan Arcidiacono, Phil Booth, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins. Jenkins technically is a small forward but he is more of an outside threat than an inside presence.

Villanova's weaknesses are that it has only have seven men in its rotation and has one big man - 6-11 Daniel Ochefu. They are often outrebounded, particularly by top-flight teams. If Ochefu gets into foul trouble. the Wildcats are severely challenged. But this Villanova team is fun to watch, shoots as well any team in the nation and move the ball flawlessly.

The Wildcats respond well to their great coach, Jay Wright, and seem to never give up. But the question remains: How far can they go in the tournament? In their last five trips to the tournament, they have been beaten early by teams seeded lower than they were. In the 10 trips to the tournament during Wright's coaching tenure, they've gone to the Final Four once and the regional final one other time.

It would be truly exciting for Big 5 fans if the 'Cats made the Final Four again. If they do, their lack of depth up front is sure to be a problem, but if they are at the top of their game in a season in which there are no truly great teams, they just might make the Final Four. Once they do, we can begin to dream of having that parade down Broad Street.

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