City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) +
Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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The high school playoff races are heating up. Most PIAA teams in the area have played 13 or 14 of their 22 games, the District 1 rankings starting to shape up, teams getting an area where they stand. 

That also creates matchups with more and more drama — it’s one thing when two 2-0 squads face off, another when they’re 5-0, 6-0, 7-0. And indeed, the ‘games to watch’ each week get more and more intense.

For the next few weeks, with so much going on in the high school world and the college schedule just grinding through league play, we’re going to focus on high school games to watch, with college games included on the full schedule below. 

Just like last week, we’ll go league-by-league with important games to watch:

• Catholic League
  The Catholic League boys schedule has four games Monday and a few others scattered throughout the week before a full slate Friday. Conwell-Egan travels to Father Judge on Monday evening after a big win over West Catholic last week. Archbishop Wood has been through the ringer already with a 2-2 record against Judge, Archbishop Ryan, Roman Catholic and Neumann-Goretti. The VIkings host St. Joe’s Prep on Friday to finish off the daunting stretch. 

On the girls side, Wood took down O’Hara in the first big-time matchup of the season. The Lions get reigning champion Lansdale Catholic at home on Tuesday night. There’s another big Friday night battle when Carroll travels to Wood.

• Central League
  There aren’t too many eye-catching matchups in the Central League on either side this week but Thursday has a couple of big ones on the boys side. Lower Merion’s, the lone unbeaten still in league play and two games clear of the rest of the field, travels to Radnor. Conestoga, the team tied with Radnor for second place, travels to fourth-place Harriton. There could be some tightening or separating at the top of the league. A Friday boys matchup between Penncrest and Upper Darby could be another fun one.

• Ches-Mont League
  The Ches-Mont girls side has been unpredictable this season, meaning there aren’t too many games without implications. Tuesday’s West Chester East-Downingtown East, Coatesville-Bishop Shanahan and West Chester Henderson-Downingtown West are all big ones in figuring out the National Division. Thursday’s West Chester Henderson-West Chester East and Coatesville-Downingtown West games are two more big ones.

Though Bishop Shanahan upset Henderson on the boys side last week, it hasn’t been as chaotic. The Downingtown West boys have quite the week with trips to West Chester Henderson and Coatesville on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. The Ches-Mont National picture will start to take shape after those games.

• Inter-Ac League
  The way things are playing out, there really isn’t a bad game on the boys side in the Inter-Ac. Tuesday is an incredible slate with league’s two unbeatens squaring off when Springside-Chestnut Hill hosts Episcopal Academy. The league’s two preseason favorites, Malvern Prep and Penn Charter, also face off at PC. SCHA travels to Malvern on Friday night. Germantown Academy hosts reigning champion Penn Charter on the girls side Thursday.
  
  A win would give GA sole possession of first place in the league, while a loss would put PC, GA and Notre Dame all tied with one loss one time through league play.

• Pioneer Athletic
  The PAC is one time through the division with only one or two crossover games left on each team’s slate. The upcoming week features division play on Tuesday followed by crossover play on Thursday for both the girls and boys. 

The Methacton boys are featured in the two matchups of the week ast they travel to Perk Valley on Tuesday before hosting Phoenixville on Thursday. Spring-Ford-Pottstown on Thursday is also another interesting matchup after the two teams went to double overtime in last season’s PAC semifinals

The two most interesting matchup on the PAC’s girls side are non-league bouts as Spring-Ford hosts Albertus Magnus (N.Y.) on Saturday and Perk Valley plays Archbishop Carroll on Sunday in the Maggie Lucas Classic at Jefferson.

• Suburban One
  It’s the last week of crossover play in the SOL before teams get back to their division matchups to finish out the season. Some great girls’ games on Tuesday night, as Neshaminy hosts Central Bucks East and North Penn hosts Bensalem; Thursday sees Central Bucks East host Abington and Upper Moreland host Plymouth Whitemarsh. Upper Dublin, the only girls’ team unbeaten in SOL play, has a good one Friday night at home against Lower Moreland.
  
  The only unbeaten boys team in the league, Bensalem (9-0 SOL), gets North Penn at home on Tuesday, though William Tennent vs. Plymouth Whitemarsh and CB East vs. Neshaminy are also quality games that night. Friday’s slate features CB West hosting Neshaminy, PW hosting Upper Moreland and Tennent hosting Abington. 

• Everybody Else
  Big matchup in the Friends’ Schools League on the boys’ side Tuesday afternoon, as Academy New Church hosts George School; ANC’s the only team yet to take an FSL defeat, but George is one of the programs good enough to do it. If ANC wins this one, having already beaten Friends’ Central, it would only need to get past Westtown on Feb. 1 to claim the top seed in the FSL.
  
  In the Bicentennial League, the Jenkintown and MaST Charter girls will both put their 5-1 league records on the line with a Thursday meeting, while unbeaten Renaissance Charter and Faith Christian have easier weeks ahead. Bicentennial leader Dock Mennonite (9-0) has beaten the three teams right below it, but does have to go to Jenkintown (6-3) on Friday.
  
  The AACA frontrunner is Villa Maria (4-0), which will really be in the driver’s seat if it can beat both Villa Joe (2-1) and Gwynedd Mercy (2-1) on the road this week, Thursday and Saturday. The Hurricanes get four of their last five games of the season at home. 

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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 15
WBB: Saint Joseph’s vs. La Salle (12:00 PM)
MBB: Penn @ Cornell (2 PM)
WBB: Penn vs. Cornell (2 PM)
MBB: Villanova @ Marquette (2:30 PM)
MBB: Saint Joseph’s vs. La Salle (4:00 PM)

Boys: Archbishop Carroll vs. Bonner-Prendergast (1:30 PM)
Boys: Father Judge vs. Conwell-Egan (6 PM)
Girls: Conwell-Egan vs. Archbishop Ryan (7 PM)

Tues., January 16
MBB: Temple @ SMU (8 PM)

Boys: Engineering & Sciences vs. Northeast (3:15 PM)
Boys: Dobbins vs. Overbrook (3:15 PM)
Boys: Future vs. Ben Franklin (3:15 PM)
Boys: Haverford School vs. Germantown Academy (4:00 PM)
Boys: Friends’ Central vs. Friends’ Select (4:00 PM)
Boys: SCH Academy vs. Episcopal Academy (4:00 PM)
Boys: Academy New Church vs. George School (5:30 PM)
Boys: Perkiomen Valley vs. Methacton (6:45 PM)
Boys: West Chester Rustin vs. Sun Valley (6:45 PM)
Boys: West Chester Henderson vs. Downingtown West (6:45 PM)
Boys: William Tennent vs. Plymouth Whitemarsh (7:00 PM)

Girls: Great Valley vs. Kennett (6:45 PM)
Girls: North Penn vs. Bensalem (7:00 PM)
Girls: Neshaminy vs. Central Bucks East (7:00 PM)
Girls: Cardinal O’Hara vs. Lansdale Catholic (7:00 PM)
Girls: Conwell-Egan vs. Archbishop Carroll (7:00 PM)

Weds., January 17
WBB: Villanova vs. Marquette (7 PM)

Boys: Hill School vs. Friends’ Central (5:30 PM)
Boys: Garnet Valley vs. Springfield (Delco.) (7:00 PM)

Thurs., January 18
MBB: Drexel vs. Monmouth (7 PM)

Boys: Dobbins vs. Lincoln (3:15 PM)
Boys: Constitution vs. OVerbrook (3:15 PM)
Boys: West Chester Henderson vs. West Chester East (6:45 PM)
Boys: Spring-Ford vs. Pottstown (6:45 PM)
Boys: Methacton vs. Phoenixville (6:45 PM)
Boys: Coatesville vs. Downingtown West (6:45 PM)
Boys: Chester vs. Chichester (7:00 PM)
Boys: Harriton vs. Conestoga (7:00 PM)
Boys: Radnor vs. Lower Merion (7:00 PM)
Boys: Wissahickon vs. Cheltenham (7:00 PM

Girls: Episcopal Academy vs. Agnes Irwin (4:00 PM)
Girls: Germantown Academy vs. Penn Charter (4:00 PM)
Girls: Upper Moreland vs. Plymouth Whitemarsh (7:00 PM)
Girls: Jenkintown vs. MaST Charter (7:00 PM)
Girls: Conwell-Egan vs. Neumann-Goretti (7:00 PM)
Girls: Central Bucks East vs. Abington (7:00 PM)
Girls: Radnor vs. Lower Merion (7:00 PM)

Fri., January 19
WBB: Drexel vs. Hofstra (6 PM)

Boys: George School vs. Friends’ Select (5:30 PM)
Boys: St. Joe’s Prep vs. Archbishop Wood (7:00 PM)
Boys: Bonner-Prendergast vs. Father Judge (7:00 PM)
Boys: Malvern Prep vs. SCH Academy (7:00 PM)
Boys: Neumann-Goretti vs. West Catholic (7:00 PM)
Boys: Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. Upper Moreland (7:00 PM)
Boys: Westtown School vs. Phelps School (7:30 PM)

Girls: Friends’ Central vs. Shipley (6:30 PM)
Girls: Archbishop Wood vs. Archbishop Carroll (7:00 PM)
Girls: Upper Dublin vs. Lower Moreland (7:00 PM)
Girls: Pennsbury vs. CB South (7:00 PM)

Sat., January 20
WBB: La Salle @ VCU (1:00 PM)
WBB: Penn @ Harvard (2:00 PM)
MBB: Drexel vs. Delaware (2 PM)
MBB: Saint Joseph’s vs. Duquesne (2:30 PM)
MBB: Temple vs. Rice (2 PM)
MBB: Penn vs. Harvard (6 PM)
MBB: Villanova vs. UConn (8 PM)

Boys: Radnor vs. West Chester East (1:30 PM)
Boys: Academy New Church vs. Malvern Prep (4:00 PM)

Girls: Radnor vs. Downingtown West (12:00 PM)
Girls: Gwynedd Mercy vs. Villa Maria (12:00 PM)

Sun., January 21
WBB: Saint Joseph’s @ Rhode Island (12 PM)
WBB: Villanova vs. Creighton (12 PM)
WBB: Temple vs. Charlotte (1 PM)
WBB: Drexel vs. Monmouth (1 PM)

Boys: Archbishop Wood vs. Archbishop Carroll (2:30 PM)

Girls: Maggie Lucas Classic @ Jefferson
Court 1
10:30 AM Great Valley vs Mount Saint Joseph
12:00 PM Lansdale Catholic vs Notre Dame
1:30 PM Perkiomen Valley vs Archbishop Carroll
3:00 PM Haverford High vs Abington
4:30 PM Cardinal O’Hara vs Life Center
6:00 PM Westtown vs Archbishop Wood 

Court 2
10:30 AM West Catholic vs Upper Dublin
12:00 PM Audenried vs Sanford (DE)
1:30 PM Imhotep Charter vs Episcopal Ac.
3:00 PM Friends’ Central vs Ursuline Ac. (Del.)
4:30 PM Penn Charter vs Neshaminy
6:00 PM Germantown Academy vs Council Rock South
7:30 PM Pennsbury vs Conwell Egan