Postseason tournaments set: Villanova, Penn, Temple, La Salle, St. Joe’s learn opponents
La Salle, St. Joe's and Villanova are back in action on Thursday, Temple on Friday and Penn on Saturday.
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After a full slate of games on Saturday, the postseason fields for all the Big 5 schools are set.
Villanova earned the No. 1 seed in the Big East after winning the regular-season title despite ending the season with a 79-75 loss to Seton Hall. Georgetown’s upset victory over Marquette helped the 'Cats win their fifth conference title in the last six years.
The Wildcats will face the winner of a first-round game between No. 8 Providence and No. 9 Butler on Thursday at noon at Madison Square Garden.
Temple sent head coach Fran Dunphy out with a win in his final regular-season game as head coach. The Owls beat UCF, 67-62, at home to make an emphatic statement for inclusion in the NCAA Tournament.
But first Temple must tackle the American Athletic Conference postseason tourney taking place in Memphis, Tenn., this week. The Owls are the No. 3 seed, which gave them a first-round bye. They play the winner of No. 6 Wichita State and No. 11 East Carolina on Friday at 9 p.m.
Penn played its way into the final Ivy League tournament berth with a win over Brown on Saturday at the Palestra. The Quakers could only make the tournament if they won their final two games, and they accomplished the first half of that mission on Friday with a win over Yale, the No. 2 seed in the tournament
Now, the Quakers will have to face top seed Harvard in the third edition of the Ivy League tournament but the first taking place outside Philadelphia. The game between the Quakers and the Crimson tips off at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday at Yale.
La Salle beat Fordham, 72-57, to end the regular season with an 8-10 conference record. That was good enough for a 9 seed and a first-round bye in the Atlantic 10 tournament in Brooklyn this week.
La Salle will face No. 8 Rhode Island at the Barclays Center on Thursday at noon.
St. Joe’s, which lost to VCU, 75-63, on Friday night to end the regular season with a 6-12 record, earned the 10 seed and a first-round bye. The Hawks will face No. 7 Duquesne at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
Drexel begins play in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. The No. 6 seed will play No. 3 College of Charleston in North Charleston, S.C.