For Drexel, there's no place like home

1. Home sweet home I

 Drexel can make some progress in the Colonial Athletic Association standings as it faces a stretch of four home games over the next two weeks. The Dragons (16-7, 8-5 CAA), who host James Madison on Wednesday night, are 9-1 at the Daskalakis Athletic Center this season and have won five of their last six games overall. "We've just got to take care of our business," Drexel coach Bruiser Flint said. "We've had some tough road trips. But everybody is more comfortable at home, and we play with more confidence there."

2. Home sweet home II

 Phil Martelli said the crowd at Hagan Arena made a huge difference in helping St. Joseph's gain its initial Atlantic Ten victory of the season, and first win of 2011. "There were some plays that we made that energized the crowd, and that kind of carried over," the Hawks' coach said of Saturday's game against Massachusetts. Freshman Langston Galloway went 6 of 6 on three-point tries and scored a career-high 25 points. "You see almost like a boulder come off his back after that first three he made; subsequently he played a little freer and easier," Martelli said.

3. For the defense

 Villanova sophomore Isaiah Armwood is still a little raw on offense, but it's his defense and rebounding that have earned him back-to-back starts for the Wildcats. "For us, he's just incredible," 'Nova coach Jay Wright said. "He brings so much energy and he's so smart defensively. He can talk anybody through anything." Wright is going with a more conventional lineup of two guards, two forwards, and a center, and sophomore guard Maalik Wayns comes off the bench. The 6-foot-8 Armwood is expected to make his third straight start Wednesday night at Rutgers.

4. Scoring machine Scootie

Check out the numbers of Temple junior Scootie Randall over his last five games: 20.0 points per game, 64.4 percent shooting from the field, 54.5 percent from beyond the three-point arc. But there's more to the Communications Tech graduate than just offense, according to Owls coach Fran Dunphy. "We're asking him to guard probably the toughest perimeter guy on the opposition," Dunphy said. "We're almost asking him to do too much. But it's been a pleasure to watch his growth." The 24th-ranked Owls (17-5, 7-2 A-10) host Fordham on Wednesday night.

5. Road no problem

 La Salle, which has won its last two games on the road, gets a chance at two more at St. Louis (Wednesday night) and St. Bonaventure (Saturday). "It's kind of strange for a team to be [successful] like that," Explorers coach John Giannini said. "We expect a great challenge." The Explorers have been getting fine play of late from 6-5 junior guard Earl Pettis, the Rutgers transfer from Neumann-Goretti. Pettis scored a career-high 24 points Saturday against Dayton and is averaging 15.0 points in his last five games. He is 28 of 28 on free throws in A-10 contests.

League Update

Big East

Pittsburgh's win Monday night at West Virginia gave the Panthers their 10th consecutive season of 20 victories and 10 Big East wins. Pitt is the only program to accomplish that feat. There are four conference games this week that match two ranked teams. Syracuse has two of them, against Georgetown and Louisville, while Villanova takes on Pitt Saturday night at the Pavilion.

Atlantic 10

Temple, sitting a game behind league leaders Duquesne and Xavier, gets a virtual free pass against Fordham, winless in the A-10, on Wednesday. The Owls then visit a tough Dayton team on Saturday. La Salle plays at St. Louis and St. Bonaventure this week. If they get swept, making the A-10 tournament gets dicey. St. Joe's, coming off its first conference win, goes for two straight against Fordham on Sunday at the Meadowlands.

Colonial Athletic Association

Drexel is in fifth place in the league, one game out of a spot that would give the Dragons a first-round bye in the league tournament. Drexel is at home Wednesday night against James Madison, and on Saturday afternoon against William and Mary. The Dragons lost to both teams on the road.

Ivy League

Penn's loss to Princeton on Tuesday left the Tigers as the only undefeated Ivy League team. Penn also has a loss against Harvard, which went down at Princeton and remains one game behind the preseason favorites in the loss column.