City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
––

There’s so much happening around the Delaware Valley, our heads are spinning.

The high school regular season is down to its final three weeks, the intensity ramping up in gyms across the region as each game takes on more and more importance. 

But the college conference races are heating up, too — with quite a few Big 5 teams factoring right into the mix. The Drexel men are off to their best league start in 28 years (7-0 CAA), the St. Joe’s women are in second place in the Atlantic 10, the Drexel women in the same spot in the CAA. 

On top of that, this week’s crazy weather forced all sorts of cancellations, postponements and reschedulings, quite a few of which are still waiting on new dates. 

So what we’re going to do for this week’s Look-Ahead is go day-by-day with the best games of the day, regardless of whether they’re Big 5, small-college or high school, with a more complete schedule down below:

~~~

Monday, January 22
Mondays are always fairly quiet, especially the ones without any college games on the slate. This one is a little busier than most, as a few rescheduled games from last week landed here, along with a couple of the usual Monday night Catholic League matchups. On the girls’ side, there’s a couple good Ches-Mont games, including Downingtown East visiting Bishop Shanahan in a game with significant Ches-Mont National implications. There’s also a full slate of Public League games, with Imhotep and Freire Charter squad that's undefeated in league play meeting at Imhotep.

The best PCL game on the boys’ side will take place in Northeast Philly, as Father Judge (4-1 PCL) hosts Roman Catholic (5-0). The biggest Judge home game in quite a few years will see Chris Roantree’s young Crusaders take on Chris McNesby’s Cahillites — and as if that wasn’t enough going on, Roantree and his wife just welcomed a newborn this weekend. West Catholic hosts Ryan and Conwell-Egan hosts Neumann-Goretti as well, while Radnor hosts West Chester East in a potential District 1 5A playoff preview, both teams in qualifying positions as the season winds down.

Tuesday, January 23
Plenty of high-quality options on Tuesday night. Let’s start with a fantastic local D-II matchup at Jefferson, as Holy Family’s women and men make the trip down the Roosevelt Boulevard to play their archrivals for the first time this season. The women’s game, though first, is the headliner; Jefferson’s women (16-1, 6-0) lead the CACC with Holy Family (14-4, 4-2) needing an upset to avoid falling way back into the pack. Not far from Jefferson, the La Salle men (10-8, 1-4 A-10) host the league’s best in No. 21 Dayton (14-2, 4-0), which hasn’t lost since mid-November.

In the high school realm, there’s opportunities to catch a doubleheader with quality early games: the Dobbins boys host Constitution at 3:15 in a terrific Public League contest, while Penn Charter’s girls aim to get some revenge on an earlier defeat when they host Notre Dame at 4:00 PM, a huge matchup in the Inter-Ac. From there, you could head up to Lansdale Catholic, as the Crusaders’ girls host Archbishop Wood in a rematch of last year’s Catholic League championship game — or to Abington, where the Ghost girls host Plymouth Whitemarsh in one of the fiercer rivalries around. 

Of course, that Abington/PW rivalry’ boys edition will be happening at the same time at Plymouth Whitemarsh, another quality choice; PW (9-5, 7-2) won the first matchup, 68-66 at Abington in an intense game; Abington (10-3, 6-2) has rallied to keep pace in the division. And down in the Ches-Mont, Unionville (14-2, 5-0) faces its closest challenger for the American lead, hosting Rustin (9-5, 3-1) in a rematch of a nine-point December win.

Wednesday, January 24
Opportunity to start your day off with some quality hoops as La Salle’s women host Rhode Island at 11 AM, one of only two Big 5 teams at home that day (Temple vs. South Florida MBB) as four others are on the road. The Villanova men have an important one as they fight for positioning in the Big East, traveling to St. John’s; the Red Storm dealt the Wildcats an 81-71 defeat earlier this month.

The high school slate is quiet Wednesday night, especially on the girls’ side; the boys’ games are few, but there’s some real quality. The premiere matchup is certainly taking place on Girard Ave. as St. Joe’s Prep hosts Archbishop Wood, both teams’ guard-heavy attacks sure to provide a high-scoring, high-level affair at the Prep. For those out in Delco, Bonner-Prendergast hosts Father Judge in what should be another exciting matchup, while Neumann-Goretti hosts West Catholic in South Philly. 

Thursday, January 25
Only one Big 5 game this night but it’s a good one, as the Drexel men (14-6, 7-0) travel down to Maryland to face Towson (11-8, 4-2). If the Dragons win, it’ll equal their best start in league play since 1995-96, but it won’t be easy; KenPom has it as basically a 50/50 shot heading into the week. 

The high school slate is dominated by Ches-Mont and Central League matchups on the girls’ side: Downingtown East hosts Coatesville, Bishop Shanahan hosts Downingtown West and Great Valley hosts Unionville in a good trio of Ches-Mont games; in the Central League, league leader Conestoga’s trip to Haverford High is the highlight of the night. The boys’ side doesn’t have a ton of standout matchups, though Radnor hosts Penncrest, CB East hosts Neshaminy and William Tennent hosts Plymouth Whitemarsh, all of which should be quality matchups.

Friday, January 26
A typically busy Friday night, with fantastic games all over the area. Can’t mention them all here, but lots of eyes will be on South Philly, as Neumann-Goretti hosts Archbishop Ryan in a big-time Catholic League clash; Father Judge gets another huge home game as well, with St. Joe’s Prep visiting Northeast Philly. And don’t miss a great non-league clash at Chester, as the Del-Val leaders welcome Coatesville to the Clip Joint, both communities sure to come out to support in what should be an energetic atmosphere.

On the girls’ side Friday night, a rescheduled Gwynedd Mercy vs. Villa Maria game is a good one at the top of the AACA, the two programs meeting for the second time after Villa won 49-44 on its home court in December. In the Catholic League, both Lansdale Catholic (against Archbishop Carroll) and Archbishop Wood (against Neumann-Goretti) have quality home games that will factor into the league postseason race. And up in Bucks County, don’t miss Neshaminy taking a trip to Council Rock South at the top of the SOL Patriot; Neshaminy won the first one, 48-43 at Neshaminy on Dec. 7.

Saturday, January 27
Both of the Arcadia men’s and women’s teams, as well as the DeSales men’s and women’s teams, are in the latest CoBL Division III Top 10, so that makes Saturday’s Arcadia/DeSales doubleheader one worth watching. That’s not the only good college game on Saturday; Penn’s women host a terrific Columbia squad and Drexel’s men host NC A&T, while St. Joe’s women hosts Davidson, pitting grad student Chloe Welch against her former program. 

The high school slate’s highlight is a great Central League game between Garnet Valley and Lower Merion down at GV, but there are a few other quality non-league matchups: the Constitution boys host Methacton, the Unionville girls host Bensalem, the Kennet girls host West Chester East and the North Penn girls host Rustin.

Sunday, January 28
Pretty quiet end to the week — all four Big 5 teams in action are on the road, meaning the only couple games to check out in the area are a few boys’ PCL games. They are good ones, though: Roman Catholic hosts Neumann-Goretti at Holy Family in what might be the highlight game of the entire week, while Archbishop Wood hosts Bonner-Prendergast at the same time. 

~~~

Weekly Schedule

Note: this is not the complete schedule of every local high school game; CLICK HERE for the full boys’ slate and CLICK HERE for the girls’ schedule. Included are every Big 5 game (home and away) plus local D-II and D-III games of note. Home team listed first unless @ symbol used.

Mon., January 22
Girls: Imhotep Charter vs. Freire Charter (3:15 PM)
Girls: Bishop Shanahan vs. Downingtown East (6:45 PM)
Girls: Great Valley vs. Coatesville (6:45 PM)

Boys: West Catholic vs. Archbishop Ryan (7:00 PM)
Boys: Father Judge vs. Roman Catholic (7:00 PM)
Boys: Conwell-Egan vs. Neumann-Goretti (7:00 PM)
Boys: Wissahickon vs. Cheltenham (7:00 PM)
Boys: Radnor vs. West Chester East (7:00 PM)

Tues., January 23
WBB/MBB: Jefferson vs. Holy Family (6:00 PM/8:00 PM)
MBB: La Salle vs. Dayton (6:30 PM)
MBB: Saint Joseph’s @ UMass (7:00 PM)

Boys: Dobbins vs. Constitution (3:15 PM)
Boys: Bensalem vs. Council Rock South (5:30 PM)
Boys: Unionville vs. West Chester Rustin (6:45 PM)
Boys: West Chester East vs. Coatesville (6:45 PM)
Boys: Central Bucks East vs. Central Bucks West (7:00 PM)
Boys: Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. Abington (7:00 PM)

Girls: Penn Charter vs. Notre Dame (4:00 PM)
Girls: Lansdale Catholic vs. Archbishop Wood (7:00 PM)
Girls: Pennsbury vs. Neshaminy (7:00 PM)
Girls: Bensalem vs. CR South (7:00 PM)
Girls: Lower Moreland vs. Upper Moreland (7:00 PM)
Girls: Penncrest vs. Garnet Valley (7:00 PM)
Girls: Abington vs. Plymouth Whitemarsh (7:00 PM)

Weds., January 24
WBB: La Salle vs. Rhode Island (11:00 AM)
WBB: Saint Joseph’s @ Saint Bonaventure (7:00 PM)
MBB: Temple vs. South Florida (7:00 PM)
WBB: Temple @ Southern Methodist (7:00 PM)
WBB: Villanova @ Providence (7:00 PM)
MBB: Villanova @ St. John’s (8:30 PM)

Boys: Roman Catholic vs. Conwell-Egan (3:30 PM)
Boys: St. Joe’s Prep vs. Archbishop Wood (7:00 PM)
Boys: Bonner-Prendergast vs. Father Judge (7:00 PM)
Boys: Episcopal Academy vs. Haverford School (TBD)
Boys: Neumann-Goretti vs. West Catholic (7:00 PM)

Thurs., January 25
MBB: Drexel @ Towson (7:00 PM)

Boys: William Tennent vs. Plymouth Whitemarsh (7:00 PM)
Boys: Central Bucks East vs. Neshaminy (7:00 PM)
Boys: Radnor vs. Penncrest (7:00 PM)

Girls: Renaissance Charter vs. Faith Christian (6:00 PM)
Girls: Upper Merion vs. Phoenixville (6:45 PM)
Girls: Downingtown East vs. Coatesville (6:45 PM)
Girls: Bishop Shanahan vs. Downingtown West (6:45 PM)
Girls: Great Valley vs. Unionville (6:45 PM)
Girls: Chester vs. Academy Park (7:00 PM)
Girls: Garnet Valley vs. Ridley (7:00 PM)
Girls: Haverford High vs. Conestoga (7:00 PM)
Girls: Penncrest vs. Radnor (7:00 PM)

Fri., January 26
MBB: Saint Joseph’s @ St. Bonaventure (8:30 PM)

Boys: West Catholic vs. Devon Prep (TBD)
Boys: Westtown School vs. George School (5:30 PM)
Boys: West Chester East vs. Downingtown West (6:45 PM)
Boys: Chester vs. Coatesville (6:45 PM)
Boys: William Tennent vs. Upper Moreland (7:00 PM)
Boys: Episcopal Academy vs. Malvern Prep (7:00 PM)
Boys: Haverford School vs. Penn Charter (7:00 PM)
Boys: Neumann-Goretti vs. Archbishop Ryan (7:00 PM)
Boys: Father Judge vs. St. Joe’s Prep (7:00 PM)
Boys: Conwell-Egan vs. Archbishop Carroll (7:00 PM)
Boys: Neshaminy vs. Council Rock South (7:00 PM)

Girls: Masterman vs. Franklin Learning Center (3:15 PM)
Girls: Gwynedd Mercy vs. Villa Maria (5:45 PM)
Girls: Archbishop Wood vs. Neumann-Goretti (7:00 PM)
Girls: Lansdale Catholic vs. Archbishop Carroll (7:00 PM)
Girls: Upper Moreland vs. William Tennent (7:00 PM)
Girls: Council Rock South vs. Neshaminy (7:00 PM)

Sat., January 27
MBB/WBB: Arcadia vs. DeSales (1:00 PM/3:00 PM)
MBB: Penn @ Columbia (2:00 PM)
WBB: Penn vs. Columbia (2:00 PM)
MBB: Drexel vs. NC A&T (2:00 PM)
WBB: Saint Joseph’s vs. Davidson (2:00 PM)
MBB: Villanova @ Butler (3:00 PM)
MBB: La Salle @ George Washington (6:00 PM)

Boys: Constitution vs. Methacton (2:00 PM)
Boys: Garnet Valley vs. Lower Merion (7:00 PM)

Girls: Kennett vs. West Chester East (10:15 AM)
Girls: Unionville vs. Bensalem (12:30 PM)
Girls: North Penn vs. West Chester Rustin (TBD)

Sun., January 28
WBB: Temple @ Tulane (2:00 PM)
WBB: Drexel @ Stony Brook (2:00 PM)
WBB: Villanova @ DePaul (2:00 PM)
MBB: Temple @ East Carolina (5:00 PM)

Boys: Archbishop Wood vs. Bonner-Prendergast (2:30 PM)
Boys: Roman Catholic vs. Neumann-Goretti (2:30 PM, Holy Family)