City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Each Sunday this season, we’ll be putting out a preview of the week to come, with a spotlight on key local matchups. Here’s a look at the upcoming week — Monday, Nov. 13 through Sunday, Nov. 19.

A whole bunch of local games of note this week:

• MBB: Penn vs. Villanova (Mon., 7 PM, Palestra)
  The Palestra should be rocking on Monday night as the Quakers face by far their most significant test of the season thus far when the Wildcats come to visit. Penn (2-1, 0-1 Big 5) lost to St. Joe’s on Friday, so a loss here would guarantee a spot in the 5th/6th place game on Dec. 2. Villanova (2-0, 0-0) has had two easy ones to start the year, beating American and Le Moyne by a combined 53 points; a win here adds even more importance to the matchup with St. Joe’s on Nov. 29th. Penn last beat Villanova in 2018-19, at the Palestra. 

• WBB: Penn vs. Saint Joseph’s (Tues., 6 PM, Palestra)
  The first Big 5 game of the year for either of these squads, both of whom have looked good in limited appearances this season. Penn blasted Marist this weekend, getting 24 points from Stina Almqvist and 18 from Lizzy Groetsch, two juniors who are stepping into the biggest roles of their careers. St. Joe’s had an impressive win over Yale on Saturday, with 25 points apiece from Chloe Welch and Mackenzie Smith. The key here will be how the Quakers handle the Hawks’ frontcourt of Laura Ziegler and Talya Brugler.

• MBB: Drexel vs. Temple (Tues., 7 PM, Daskalakis)
  The DAC should be packed as the Dragons play the first home Big 5 game in school history, the Owls making the trip down Broad (and over Market). Drexel (1-1) is already 0-1 in Big 5 pod play, losing to La Salle in its opener, while Temple (2-0) is playing its first pod game. If Temple wins, its home game on Nov. 29 against La Salle is officially for the top seed on Dec. 2; a Drexel win creates the potential for a three way 1-1 situation.

• MBB: Villanova vs. Maryland (Fri., 8:30 PM, Pavilion)
  The final year of the Gavitt Games created a high-quality matchup at the Finn on Friday night as the Terps will travel up to visit the Wildcats. One subplot everybody’s sure to talk about is Villanova’s Hakim Hart going against his former team, which features Imhotep Charter product Donta Scott; the two were teammates with Philly Pride on the Under Armour circuit. Scott, a 6-7 wing, has started 116 of 131 career games as of Sunday.

• MBB: Swarthmore vs. DeSales (Sat., 3 PM, Swarthmore)
  Big-time D-III non-conference matchup on Saturday in Delco as DeSales travels down to No. 9 Swarthmore. DeSales received votes in the preseason national poll, then opened its season with a 39-point thrashing of Rosemont, now eager to prove itself against a top-10 program. Swarthmore, whose rise to a national-level program under Landry Kosmalski has been well-documented, is led this year by a local product, Sun Valley’s Vinny DeAngelo, an All-American candidate at guard.

• WBB: Villanova vs. Temple (Sun., 2 PM, Pavilion)
  The final Big 5 matchup of the week sees the Wildcats host the Owls, who have been hot-and-cold the first week of the season, blowing out Bucknell and Delaware State while getting handled by Georgetown. Temple will be coming off a game at No. 12 Ole Miss on Wednesday, while the Wildcats have a whole week off after playing Oregon State as part of its season-opening two-game road trip. 

Here’s the full Big 5 schedule for the week, with a few local small-college games of note included as well: 

Mon., November 13
MBB: Penn vs. Villanova (7 PM) 

Tues., November 14
WBB: Penn vs. Saint Joseph’s (6 PM)
MBB: La Salle vs. Bucknell (6:30 PM)
MBB: Drexel vs. Temple (7 PM)
MBB: Saint Joseph’s vs. Stonehill (7 PM)

Weds., November 15
WBB: Chestnut Hill vs. UDC (5 PM)
MBB: West Chester vs. Fairmont State (6 PM)
WBB: Drexel vs. La Salle (6 PM)
MBB: Jefferson vs. Kutztown (6 PM)
WBB/MBB: Arcadia vs. Gwynedd Mercy (6 PM/8 PM)
MBB: Cabrini vs. Swarthmore (7 PM)
WBB: Temple @ Ole Miss (7:30 PM)

Thurs., November 16
MBB: Bryn Athyn vs. Washington College (5 PM)
MBB: Rosemont vs. Rutgers-Camden (7 PM)

Fri., November 17
MBB: Saint Joseph’s vs. Texas A&M Commerce (7 PM)
MBB: Drexel vs. Fairfield (7 PM)
MBB: Villanova vs. Maryland (8:30 PM)

Sat., November 18
MBB: Arcadia vs. Haverford College (1 PM)
MBB: La Salle vs. Southern Indiana (2 PM)
WBB: Holy Family vs. Shippensburg (2 PM)
MBB: Temple vs. Columbia (2 PM)
MBB: Swarthmore vs. DeSales (3 PM)
MBB: Penn @ Maryland-Eastern Shore (4 PM)

Sun., November 19
WBB: Penn @ Siena (2 PM)
WBB: Villanova vs. Temple (2 PM)
MBB: Drexel vs. Queens (N.C.) (2 PM)
WBB: Drexel vs. Saint Joseph’s (4:30 PM)