Philly Sports Blogs» Philadelphia Big 5

Wildcats Have Busy Week

Erin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 23:44:59 +0000

The past week has been a busy week for the Villanova basketball program. The Wildcats were unable to sign highly touted Michael Gilchrist, who selected to play for John Calipari at the University of Kentucky, but did receive a letter of intent from Bishop Loughlin standout JayVaughan Pinkston.

Gilchrist was said to have narrowed his options to the two schools, but ultimately chose to fill Kentucky’s void after they sent four athletes to the NBA draft. The 6-foot-7 forward who possesses excellent ball… Finish Reading

Madness! Villanova survives

Eric Schwartz — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:30:57 +0000

This is why they call it Madness!

And for Villanova, the Wildcats need to be thankful they are still a part of it.

No. 2 Villanova erased an eight point deficit to No. 15 Robert Morris in the final four minutes of regulation to send the game into over time, where they eventually advanced with a 73-70 win.

Scottie Reynolds finished with 20 points, but had an awful shooting day, hitting just 2-of-15 shots. Reynolds knocked down 15 free throws,… Finish Reading

Trying to figure out your bracket

Eric Schwartz — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:13:23 +0000

Reading this will not make you an instant winner in your NCAA Tournament bracket pool, but hopefully it helps make your decisions a little easier when going through some tough choices. Like many college basketball fans, I watch hours of games each week and still struggle to grasp exactly who is good enough to go all the way. This year has been one of the toughest I can remember as the parity in the game appears to be at an… Finish Reading

Orange gets #1, Villanova #2

Joseph Birmingham — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:22:52 +0000

The NCAA tournament seedings are in. Selection Sunday saw the Syracuse Orange get seeded #1 and the Villanova Wildcats #2, even after their consecutive tough losses. It would not have surprised me to see the Wildcats slip to a #3 seed. The local often overlooked Temple Owls are seeded #5.

Villanova will kick things off 3/18 against Robert Morris, then Syracuse will matchup against the Vermont Catamounts on 3/19. Temple’s opening game also comes 3/19 against the Cornell Big Red. Temple probably… Finish Reading

Villanova gets No. 2 seed, Temple No. 5

Eric Schwartz — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:01:01 +0000

The brackets for the NCAA Tournament were unveiled today, with Temple and Villanova each finding out its fate.

Despite a late-season slide Villanova managed a No. 2 seed in the South and has a very favorable draw. The Wildcats will begin their march to the Final Four against No. 15 Robert Morris and would see the winner of No. 7 Richmond and No. 10 St. Marys in the second round. From there possible matchups with Baylor and Notre Dame exist.… Finish Reading

Top prospects suffer letdowns in conference tournament

Joseph Birmingham — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:06:27 +0000

The Big East is so tightly contested, both Syracuse and Villanova suffered losses today. Ranked 22nd nationally and seeded 8th, the Georgetown Hoyas stunned the Number 1 seed Syracuse Orange (28-4) 91-84 with an impressive second half surge led by 27 points from Chris Wright. More important than the loss and the chance of it costing the Orange a number 1 seed in the tournament, was the loss of starting center Arinze Onuaku.

Conference player of the year Wes Johnson led Syracuse with 24… Finish Reading

8 Big East teams hit 20 wins

Joseph Birmingham — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 03:40:24 +0000

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… Finish Reading

Temple the cream of the A-10 crop

Joseph Birmingham — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:21:16 +0000

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… Finish Reading

Orange leave no doubt they belong on top

Joseph Birmingham — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:14:30 +0000

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… Finish Reading

Is Temple the real deal?

Eric Schwartz — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:12:43 +0000

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… Finish Reading