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City 6 Power Rankings (Jan. 2)

01/02/2018, 11:15am EST
By Owen McCue

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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Things look a little different in the city during the first rankings of 2018. Most of the Philly teams are hoping to leave underwhelming starts to their season back in 2017.

With the start of conference play upon us, here are how the rankings are shaping up about halfway through the season:

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Previous rankings: Preseason (Nov. 6) | Nov. 20 | Dec. 4 | Dec. 18

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6. Drexel Dragons (Previous Ranking: 4)
Record:
6-8, 0-1 CAA
Last Two Weeks: vs. Quinnipiac (W, 72-71), @ Loyola (L, 66-62), @ Elon (L, 90-75)
Star Watch: Kurk Lee (Soph./G)
Update: Drexel has been hurt by injuries all season long, and the luck has not gotten any better for the Dragons as of late. Senior guard Miles Overton, who missed 12 games after playing in the season opener against Houston, and Troy Harper, who missed eight games, both returned to the court for the Dragons against Elon. But their returns came after the Dragons’ leading scorer Tramaine Isabell went down with an injury. Isabell, who is averaging nearly 20 points per game after a redshirt season, has missed the Dragons’ last two contests. Lee has been very impressive in Isabell’s absence, averaging 19 points and four assists in his last two games, but the Dragons lost both contests. After a three-game win streak in early December, Drexel has now lost four of its last five.

Next Two Weeks: @ UNC-Wilmington (Jan. 2, 7 PM), vs. College of Charleston (Jan. 5, 7 PM), vs. William & Mary (Jan. 7, 4 PM), @ Delaware (Jan. 11, 7 PM), vs. Hofstra (Jan. 13, 4 PM)

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5. Saint Joseph’s Hawks (6)
Record:
5-7, 0-1 A-10
Last Two Weeks: vs. St. John’s (L, 77-73), @ George Washington (L, 70-64)
Star Watch: Charlie Brown (So./F)

Update: The Hawks are still waiting on the return of sophomore forward Charlie Brown, who injured his wrist in the preseason. He could be returning to the lineup soon, but at the moment, the Hawks are struggling without him. St. Joe’s has lost four of its last five games as the Hawks’ only win in December came against Maine, which has a 3-12 record this season. St. Joe’s hung tough against  a very good St. John’s team, but the Hawks trailed by as many as 15 against George Washington before falling short in a comeback attempt. St. Joe’s needs to do a better job defending beyond the 3-point line. Opponents are shooting 37 percent from deep against the Hawks. George Washington made nine of its 22 attempts from deep in St. Joe’s loss. Things don’t get an easier with home games against VCU and St. Bonaventure coming up.

Next Two Weeks: vs. VCU (Jan. 3, 7 PM), vs. St. Bonaventure (Jan. 6, 8 PM), @ George Mason (Jan. 10, 7 PM), @ UMass (Jan. 14, 5 PM)

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4. Temple Owls (2)
Record:
7-6, 0-2 American
Last Two Weeks: @ Georgia (L, 84-66), vs. Tulane (L, 85-75), @ Houston (L, 76-73)
Star Watch: Nate Pierre-Louis (Fr./G)

Update: The Owls have lost three in a row, including two conference losses. After the way the way Temple started the season, it would be very difficult imagining the Owls possibly slipping below .500 this early in the season. However, with meetings against Cincinnati, Central Florida and SMU upcoming, that’s exactly where Temple might find itself if it can’t right the ship. Senior forward Obi Enechionyia has been very inconsistent. After a 27-point outing against Georgia, he went 4-of-22 from the floor, including 0-for-11 from three, in his next two games. A bright spot as of late has been the freshman Pierre-Louis, who has 11 points in back-to-back games after totaling just nine points in his five prior appearances.

Next Two Weeks: vs. Cincinnati (Jan. 4, 9 PM), @ Central Florida (Jan. 7, noon), @ Southern Methodist (Jan.10, 10 PM), vs. Memphis (Jan. 13, 2 PM)

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3. La Salle Explorers (5)
Record:
7-7, 1-0 A-10
Last Two Weeks: @ Bucknell (L, 88-81), vs. St. Louis (W, 83-60)
Star Watch: Pookie Powell (R-Jr./G)

Update: Senior forward B.J. Johnson went down with an ankle injury in La Salle’s win against Mercer on Dec. 17. In two games without Johnson, the Explorers went 1-1. It’s unclear how long it will take for Johnson to return, but led by Powell, they put on impressive showing in their Atlantic 10 opener, handling St. Louis with ease. Powell, La Salle’s second leading scorer, has elevated his game with Johnson out. He has three straight 20-point games and shot better than 50 percent from the field in all three contests. The Explorers also put on one of their best defensive showings of the season against the Billikens, holding St. Louis to 27 percent shooting from the floor in the first half. La Salle has quite a test upcoming with a road trip to Rhode Island on Wednesday and then a home game against VCU.

Next Two Weeks: @ Rhode Island (Jan. 3, 7 PM), vs. VCU (Jan. 6, 2 PM), @ UMass (Jan. 10, 7 PM), @ Duquesne (Jan.  13, 12:30 PM)

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2. Penn Quakers (5)
Record:
9-5
Last Two Weeks: vs. Delaware State (W, 105-52), vs. Toledo (L, 85-72)
Star Watch: Max Rothschild (Jr./F)

Update: Penn was on a four-game win streak before Friday’s loss to Toledo. It was a surprising defeat considering how well the Quakers looked against Delaware State after two and a half weeks off. The Quakers have a chance to start out Ivy play strong, with three home games to start their conference schedule. The 3-point shot is clearly a huge factor in Penn’s success. The Quakers made 10-or-more threes in each of their victories during the four-game win streak, shooting 45 percent from the deep. Penn went 8-for-30 from 3-point range in the loss to Toledo. Rothschild’s role has greatly increased during his third season with the Quakers. He started just three games during his first two seasons at Penn and has started all 14 contests so far this season.Rothschild  is the team’s leading rebounder and also the fourth leading scorer at nine points per game. Rothschild had his first double-double of the season (11 points, 10 rebounds) in the loss to Toledo.

Next Two Weeks: vs. Princeton (Jan. 5, 7 PM), vs. Cornell (Jan. 12, 8 PM), vs. Columbia (Jan. 13, 7 PM)

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1. Villanova Wildcats (1)
Record: 13-1, 1-1 Big East
Last Two Weeks: vs. Hofstra (W, 95-71), @ DePaul (W, 103-85), @ Butler (L, 101-93)
Star Watch: Jalen Brunson (Jr./G)

Update: The Wildcats dropped their third straight game against Butler and fell to No. 3 in the AP Top 25 poll after their first loss of the season. Villanova fans shouldn’t worry too much as the Wildcats won 12 of 13 and finished 15-3 in the Big East after losing to the Bulldogs early in conference play last season. However, depth is starting to become and issue for the Wildcats. Freshman Jermaine Samuels joined Collin Gillespie on the injury report this past week, leaving Jay Wright with a seven-man rotation. Six Wildcats played 96 percent of Villanova’s minutes. As long as Brunson is at point for the Wildcats, they will likely be just fine though. The junior has two 30-point outings in his last four games. He is averaging 18.9 points and five assists through 14 games.

Next Two Weeks: vs. Marquette (Jan. 6, 8 PM), vs. Xavier (Jan. 10, 8 PM), @ St. John’s (Jan. 13, 8 PM)

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