The Big East finishes with 8 teams with 20+ wins, and the finale is a shocker.   Unranked Louisville gets their 20th victory with a 10 point win over #1 Syracuse.  Kyle Kuric scored all of his career-high 22 points in the second half, and the Cardinals stunned No. 1 Syracuse 78-68 on Saturday before a record crowd of 20,135.

 It was the final game there before Louisville moves into a new downtown arena. 

The Cardinals won both their games against top ranked Syracuse whose only [...]

I posted on 12/12/09  when Temple was about to face Villanova and called the Owls the surprise victors in the game.  They went ahead to win.  I expected them to be a strong team this year but have to admit I am impressed with their recent efforts as they have compiled a 6 game winning streak down the stretch.  They are currently ranked 16th nationally and may have a serious impact before they are through.

Everyone expected the Wildcats to be a final [...]

There is no doubt that the Big East is the dominant force in college basketball at the moment.  The one question I had last week has also been conclusively answered.  I wondered if Villanova or Syracuse were the better team. 

The Orange have jumped to number one in the coaches poll by virtue of enormous wins, over Providence and Villanova, the latter game against a on campus record crowd of 34,616 at the Carrier Dome. 

In the meantime, Kansas and Kentucky lost key [...]

Just how good is Temple?

That is a question many around the country will be thinking over in the coming weeks when the NCAA brackets are revealed and the Owls find themselves favored for at least a round.

Those who wonder how good Temple is might want to take a look at the Owls’ game tonight with Dayton at 6:30 p.m. A few things should be answered.

The Dayton Flyers were picked by just about every expert to win the win the Atlantic [...]

What looked like a foregone conclusion eight days ago is now something that is covered by a cloud of uncertainty.

Oh Villanova, what have you done?

After looking like a lock to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for three-quarters of the season, Nova has dropped consecutive games to Big East foes, falling back into a filed of no less than six teams that could be in the mix for a No. 1 seed. While seeding doesn’t mean everything, [...]

With the college season hitting full stride in preparation for March Madness, I have one question I find myself still unable to answer.  Which team is better ?  Orange or Wildcats ?

Everyone is in agreement that the Big East is the marquee conference with five teams that could easily finish in the top 20 and ten that could show in the top 64. 

But the real question remains, who is the team to beat in the conference ?  The Orange hold [...]

Just when it looked like the top teams in the Big East had found a bit of separation from the rest of the pack, the second tier Big East reminded us just how deep the Big East is.

Villanova was the latest victim, getting outplayed by a desperate Uconn team to the tune of an 85-74 final. A couple of days before that Rutgers beat Syracuse and St. Johns took down Louisville.

Keep in mind this is a Uconn team that is [...]

By any kind of standard it has been a bad season for the men’s basketball team at Upenn.

The season started with 10-straight losses and didn’t get much better from there. So when the Quakers put together their best effort of the season and stunned No. 22 Cornell, 79-64, on Friday it was understandable that the home fans were a little excited.

It was just the fourth time the team had won all season and its first at home.

For one night it brought [...]

The CBS and ESPN analysts who like to bring drama to the NCAA Tournament bracket announcements each March will need to do an excellent job of selling the shock this year.
It seems like the No. 1 seeds have already been established.
While there has not been a dominant team in the NCAA like North Carolina last year, there are four teams that have clearly separated themselves from the pack.

Kentucky (23-1), Kansas (23-1), Syracuse (24-1) and our own Villanova (21-2) are head [...]

Villanova  held off St Joes on Wednesday night by a 97-89 score to run their record to 9-0.  A Big 5 showdown looms when they go to Temple to face the 7-2 Owls who are 6-1 since losing to Georgetown by a single point in a low scoring affair 46-45 on November 17th.   The Owls are playing a suffocating defense this year, only allowing 3 of their opponents to score more than 50 points so far this year.

The Villanova [...]

Did you ever compete against a younger brother growing up?

Time after time you would beat your younger sibling in whatever challenge was on the table. Whether it was backyard whiffle ball or eating Oreos, you always had the upper hand. Sure there were time’s when you let you brother almost win (kinda cruel wasn’t it?), but by the events end you always got the upper hand. After all, that’s what being the big brother is all about.

I was reminded of [...]

Villanova took no prisoners as they faced city rival Penn.    The Quakers never had a chance as they trailed by 30 at the end of the half.   The #6 Wildcats played a nearly flawless game and finished with a 38 point victory, 103-65.

Jay Wright coached a masterful game and the Wildcats fired on all cylinders  to start the season 2-0, albeit against a much inferior Quaker team that is not nationally ranked and will probably have trouble finishing [...]

Something tells me Fran Dunphy is going to have his players taking plenty of free throws at practice this week.

Had they simply made a few on Tuesday night, Temple would be celebrating a great early season victory.

The Owls hit just 6-of-13 free throws against Georgetown, dropping a heartbreaker, 46-45 to the 20th ranked Hoyas in.

While plenty of players had their hands in the free throw futility, it was Raymone Moore’s miss that was the most glaring. With Temple up one [...]

College basketball season has arrived which means it is time to look at the Big 5. The Big 5 is a collaboration of Philadelphia’s five major Division I schools – Villanova, Temple, St. Joseph’s, LaSalle, and UPenn. Bellow is a team-by tam look at each school. To view the team’s outlooks individually, check back to phillysportsblogs main page.

Villanova Wild Cats

 Coming off last year’s Final Four Appearance, Jay Wright’s squad is not only the favorites to win the Big [...]

                   Villanova Wild Cats

 Coming off last year’s Final Four Appearance, Jay Wright’s squad is not only the favorites to win the Big 5 and the Big East, but also an early favorite to make it back to the Final Four. The Wildcats are ranked #5 (AP) and #6 (USA Today) in the latest Pre-Season polls. The loss of 1st team All Philly Big Five Dante Cunningham (16.1 ppg. and 7.5 rpg,) Dwayne Anderson and Shane Clark to graduation [...]