By AARON BRACY
Philahoops Columnist
Three Big 5 games. Seventy-four points.
Seventy-four!
That’s the margin of victory for Villanova in wins over Penn, St. Joe’s and La Salle this season.
It’s almost unfathomable that a Philly team – even top rung Villanova – could beat three other Philly teams by an average of 24.7 points.
Villanova 77, Penn 54, Dec. 4
Villanova 98, St. Joe’s 68, Dec. 7
Villanova 73, La Salle 52, Dec. 15
Wait, that’s just not the way Big 5 games work.
You don’t have to be Jack Scheuer – the legendary Big 5 Hall of Fame sportswriter who has seen more Big 5 games than anyone alive – to know that city games aren’t played that way. They rarely are blowouts. Sure, there might be a double-digit difference here or there. But, generally, the games are pretty close, usually exciting and, quite often, thrilling nail biters.
It’s why fans love them. And it’s history, of course, but the competitiveness of these games is a factor as to why the Wildcats wanted to get out of the city round-robin series years ago.
Now, the other four schools might wish they would just leave. Well, not really, but you get the point.
Wildcats coach Jay Wright said his players’ lack of knowledge of the Big 5 might be contributing to their success this season.
“You don’t expect this,” Wright said after Sunday’s blowout of La Salle. “Sometimes our guys, not being as familiar with all this history is a good thing. Sometimes. Usually it bites us in the butt. I just think our guys look at La Salle as a team that went to the Sweet 16 last year and that’s the next game. Same with St. Joe. We’re going into a tough (Hagan) environment against a really good team. Sometimes it works to our advantage.”
Josh Hart is averaging 8.5 points off the bench for Villanova. (Philahoops)
What also is working to Nova’s advantage in the Big 5, and every other game this season, is its depth. Depth is important in any season but more so this season with the emphasis on hand-checking that has increased fouls nationally.
The Wildcats, who go nine deep in their rotation, got 29 bench points against the Explorers.
“If you do it one game or two, it’s one thing,” Wright said. “But when you do it consistently you really start to develop some depth and I think we’re most excited about that with this team Our depth is productive depth too. It’s nice to have.”
Leading scorers JayVaughn Pinkston (16.7 ppg) and James Bell (16.1) combined for just 10 points in 43 minutes versus La Salle.
Just a week ago Saturday, Pinkston and Bell torched the Hawks for 52 points and 22 rebounds in 58 minutes.
They were hardly needed against the Explorers. And Villanova still won by 21.
That has to be scary for future opponents. One of the remaining foes is Temple, which will host Villanova on Feb. 1 in the Wildcats’ final Big 5 game of the season.
Surely, the Wildcats won’t beat the Owls by 25 points, right? Right?
-Conference chatter: As we approach conference play, which generally tips off at the start of the new year, it’s interesting to have a look at how the five conferences of the six city schools are doing to this point.
Here’s 1-5 based on winning percentages:
1. Big East (Villanova), 71-26 (.732)
2. American Athletic (Temple), 67-27 (.713)
3. Atlantic 10 (La Salle, St. Joe’s), 87-40 (.685)
4. Ivy (Penn), 40-34 (.541)
5. Colonial (Drexel), 42-48 (.467)
Here are some conference thoughts:
Big East
Villanova is carrying the conference mantle right now as the only team in the league ranked. The league’s winning percentage is good but the new Big East has much ground to make up on the old Big East. That’s to be expected, of course, when you lose national powers like UConn, Syracuse and Louisville and top-notch programs like Cincinnati, Notre Dame and Pitt.
Villanova has knocked off No. 2 Kansas and No. 23 Iowa, but the league is lacking in quality victories. Georgetown’s win over then-No. 10 VCU might be the next-best victory.
Biggest surprise: Butler. The Bulldogs (8-2) have wins over Notre Dame and Purdue and have sustained the success of departed coach Brad Stevens.
Biggest disappointment: Seton Hall. The Pirates (7-4) have home losses to Fairleigh Dickinson and St. Peter’s. Enough said.
Villanova projection: The Wildcats (10-0) are sitting pretty now and would need to collapse not to make the NCAA tournament. But, as the highest (and only right now) ranked team, Villanova will get every team’s best shot. Predicted finish: First.
American Athletic
I almost fell over when I heard the ESPN announcer during Rutgers’ loss to Princeton this week that the America Athletic is a strong conference “top to bottom.” Well, that is the furthest thing from the truth – and teams like Rutgers are why.
The American, or AAC, is top heavy with nationally ranked Louisville (No. 6), UConn (9) and Memphis (16) grabbing headlines, but sags greatly with the likes of USF, UCF and Rutgers. Those four teams are a combined 23-17, which isn’t awful until you look at their schedules.
Biggest surprise: UConn. The Huskies (9-0) were expected to be good but they’ve probably been even better than advertised, with the Dec. 2 home win over Florida highlighting the out-of-conference slate.
Biggest disappointment: Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights (5-7), who will be leaving for the Big Ten after this season, have home losses to William & Mary, FDU and Princeton.
Temple projection: The Owls (4-4) were picked to finish fifth in the conference and that’s probably about where they look through eight games. Temple certainly isn’t good enough to supplant Louisville, UConn and Memphis, but should be able to handle the bottom of the league. Predicted finish: Sixth.
Atlantic 10
The league had its best run ever last season, but took a hit with the departures of Temple, Xavier and Butler. But the A-10 has held its own without those three marquee programs, getting a huge boost from UMass and a small bump from GW. The undefeated Minutemen (9-0), at No. 22, are the lone league team ranked and possess good wins over Boston College, LSU, New Mexico and BYU. Having the best player in the conference in Chaz Williams, who gets some national exposure, also is a feather in the league’s cap.
Biggest surprise: GW. The Colonials (9-1) have defeated Miami, Creighton and Maryland and boast two high-level players in Indiana transfer Maurice Creek and Villanova transfer Isaiah Armwood. Creek once scored 31 points against Kentucky, but was limited by injuries in Bloomington. He’s healthier and leading GW at 15.7 points per game. Armwood is a force down low, averaging 13 points and 7.9 rebounds. It’s hard to think GW, which was picked to finish 10th, won’t place among the top four in the league and earn an NCAA berth.
Biggest disappointment: VCU. The Rams (8-3) don’t have a bad record but will have a hard time getting back in the Top 25 conversation after a 77-68 loss at Northern Iowa on Saturday.
La Salle projection: The Explorers (5-5) are reeling and it’s hard to believe there’s any magic potion to fix their problems. League foes will happily get revenge on La Salle this season. Predicted finish: Ninth.
St. Joe’s projection: The Hawks (4-4) have a make-or-break game Wednesday against Drexel. Beat the Dragons and St. Joe’s can recover from the 30-point drubbing by Villanova at Hagan. Lose and things could spiral downward. Predicted finish: Sixth.
Ivy
Princeton (8-1) was predicted to finish fourth but looks like the cream of the crop right now, with Saturday’s win at Penn State highlighting a very good start to the season. Penn was picked to finish second but at 2-6 sits second-to-last in the eight-team league. Not to worry Quakers fans, it will get better for Jerome Allen’s bunch.
Biggest surprise: None.
Biggest disappointment: Cornell. Nobody thought the Big Red would be great, but losing 10 games to start the season probably is worse than even detractors would’ve thought.
Penn projection: Penn has some issues to solve, but has the talent to do it … but not enough to finish ahead of Harvard or Princeton. Predicted finish: Third.
Colonial
The bottom part of the league really is struggling, with Charleston, Hofstra, JMU and Northeastern a combined 12-28. That’s really going to hurt Drexel’s RPI and likely keep the CAA a one-bid league.
Biggest surprise: Delaware. The Blue Hens (5-4) have been playing well without leading scorer and All-Conference pick Devon Saddler, who was suspended last month for a violation of school rules. Davon Usher (19.2 ppg) is a really nice player and will cause trouble for league foes. The Hens’ four losses – to Notre Dame, Villanova, Richmond and Charleston Southern – are by a combined 13 points.
Biggest disappointment: Towson. The Tigers (7-4) have one of the best players in the conference in Jerrelle Benimon (16.5 ppg & 10.1 rpg), but haven’t come close to expectations. The 34-point blowout loss at Villanova on Nov. 17 doesn’t seem as bad now, but losses to Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State won’t do much to inspire confidence nationally.
Drexel projection: The Dragons have their swagger back. They’ll miss Damion Lee, who is out for the season with a knee injury, but still have enough to better league foes. Predicted finish: First.
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Aaron Bracy’s Weekly City 6 rankings for Dec. 16:
1. Villanova
2. Drexel
3. Temple
4. St. Joe’s
5. La Salle
6. Penn
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-Aaron Bracy is the Philahoops.com founder and columnist. His City 6 rankings column appears on Mondays. Share your thoughts with Aaron at [email protected], @Aaron_Bracy on Twitter and/or in the comments section below.
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It’s a shame Villanova is afraid to play the one team in the city that might give them a run for their money.