City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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The 2023-24 high school regular season is all but over — many of the area’s high school leagues have moved into the postseason, with a few just finishing up their last couple of games over the next 8-10 days. On the college side, the conference races are shaping up to the point that it’s clear which matchups are the highlights of the week. 

So this week, for our weekly preview, we’re just going day-by-day to point out the best games in the area, high school and college alike. For more games of interest, look at the schedule below; otherwise, click on the links under the ‘Weekly Schedule’ subheader to access our full boys and girls’ calendars on the site.

We’ll have individual high school playoff previews up this week for as many leagues as we can get to in a short amount of time:

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Monday, February 5
No college games today, but there’s some really good high school matchups.  The Catholic League has a solid slate, led by Neumann-Goretti’s home game against Father Judge, the Saints 7-2 and Crusaders 8-2 in league play, making this a critical one for a top-four seed. In the Bicentennial, Delco Christian (13-6, 10-1) can all but lock up the No. 2 seed in the league with a home game against Jenkintown (11-7, 7-5). On the girls’ side, West Chester Henderson (16-5, 8-3) can clinch a share of the Ches-Mont National title, but they have to beat a tough Shanahan squad (10-10, 5-6) on the road to do it. 

Tuesday, February 6
If St. Joe’s men (15-7, 5-4 A-10) have any hopes of resurrecting their NCAA at-large hopes, it has to start with a win over Dayton (18-3, 8-1), which comes to Hagan Arena coming off two wins since being ranked No. 21 in last week’s poll. The Hawks have been turning it around, winning five of six after a rough start to A-10 play, but this is their final chance to pick up a truly premiere win.

And oh yeah, on top of that matchup, we’ve got the Friends’ Schools League semifinals, the opening round of the Public League playoffs, another huge round of boys’ Inter-Ac play, a key girls’ PCL matchup in Lansdale Catholic (6-3 PCL) vs. Neumann-Goretti (6-2) and a Central League showdown between Conestoga (20-1, 14-1) and Garnet Valley (18-3, 12-3) which would wrap up the regular-season title for the ‘Stoga girls. Finally, in the girls’ Ches-Mont American, Rustin (16-5, 7-2) and Kennett (13-6, 7-2) play at Kennett to break a three-way tie with Unionville (14-6, 7-2).

Keep an eye on a key boys’ game in Delaware County, where Marple Newtown (11-10, 9-6 Central) can lock up both a Central League and District 1 5A playoff berth with a win over Penncrest (13-8, 7-8), as the Tigers come in to this one 11th in the district (12 qualify) and Penncrest ninth.

Wednesday, February 7
Only two of the Big 5 teams are in action Wednesday night, and only La Salle (11-11, 2-7) is home, against Saint Louis (8-14, 1-8). There’s some good high school action to take in, including the first round of the Ches-Mont playoffs on both the boys and girls’ side and the first round of the boys’ PAC playoffs — both Methacton/PV and Pottstown/Norristown should be fun ones to watch. We’d write more about the Ches-Mont playoffs, but we won’t learn most of the matchups until Tuesday night.

Thursday, February 8
Remember former Villanova guard Jahvon Quinerly? Well, he’s returning to Philly with his Memphis squad (16-6, 5-4) to take on Temple (8-14, 1-8), which has lost its last seven games dating back to Jan. 7. Otherwise, head up to Spring-Ford, which is hosting the first round of the girls’ PAC playoffs, or maybe over to Bonner, where the Friars have to deal with Thomas Sorber and Archbishop Ryan. The Public League’s first round also tips off today, which should include a high-profile matchup between Imhotep and Dobbins after Dobbins was forced to forfeit all of its wins this season. 

Friday, February 9
Just a massive night of high school basketball in the area. First, there’s the Friends’ Schools’ League championship games at La Salle University; while Westtown should roll in the girls’ game, the boys’ side is wide open and should be a high-level contest. Then there’s the boys’ Pioneer Athletic Conference semifinals at Perkiomen Valley and the second round of the Public League girls’ playoffs, taking place at gyms around the city. 

Over at Penn Charter, the Quakers have a doubleheader against Germantown Academy; the girls’ game has a lot on the line, as Penn Charter (8-1) can all but win its third straight title or Germantown Academy (8-1) can jump into the driver's seat before a  Feb. 12 game against Notre Dame (7-2). Meanwhile, the other two boys’ Inter-Ac games — SCH Academy vs. Malvern Prep and Haverford School vs. Episcopal Academy — all have massive implications; coming into this week, EA (5-2), Penn Charter (4-3), SCH (4-3), Malvern (3-4) and Haverford (3-4) are all still in the running for at least a share of the title, with GA (2-6) ready to play spoiler. 

Finally, there’s several big-time Catholic League games, including St. Joe’s Prep vs. Roman Catholic, Archbishop Carroll vs. Father Judge and Archbishop Wood vs. West Catholic. And don’t forget the Devon Prep/Conwell-Egan game at Devon, whose outcome will go a long way towards determining who ends up in one of the final two spots for the PCL playoffs. 

Saturday, February 10
For the first time in forever, it’s a day in which the college side has more going on than the high school one. There are eight Big 5 teams in action, including the Penn/Princeton matchups on both the men’s and women’s side; the women are home, men over the river. Unfortunately, five of the eight games overall are on the road, the others a good deal further from Philadelphia; the most important is likely Drexel MBB’s matchup at Charleston, though Temple/South Florida (WBB) on North Broad and Villanova at Marquette (WBB) are big as well.

That being said, the few high school games that are going on are all big ones. West Chester’s Hollinger Gym will host the Ches-Mont semifinals all day long, while Perk Valley will host the Pioneer Athletic Conference girls’ semifinals in the evening. There’s only one Catholic League matchup, but it’s a powerhouse clash between Archbishop Ryan and Roman Catholic. 

Sunday, February 11
Solid day to cap off the week, including three home Big 5 games with the Villanova men (Seton Hall), Drexel women (NC A&T) and Temple men (Charlotte) all getting some afternoon action in. That’s a big opportunity for the Drexel women, who enter the week 10-10 (5-4) while NC A&T is 14-6 (8-1). There’s also a trio of PCL games, with Devon Prep getting another big bubble opportunity, against Cardinal O’Hara; St. Joe’s Prep/Egan and Bonner/Neumann-Goretti round out the trio. 

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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., February 5
Boys: Delco Christian vs. Jenkintown (5:30 PM)
Boys: Unionville vs. Sun Valley (6:45 PM)
Boys: Bonner-Prendergast vs. Roman Catholic (7:00 PM)
Boys: St. Joe’s Prep vs. Cardinal O’Hara (7:00 PM)
Boys: Neumann-Goretti vs. Father Judge (7:00 PM)
Boys: William Tennent vs. Council Rock South (7:00 PM)

Girls: Bishop Shanahan vs. West Chester Henderson (6:45 PM)
Girls: Upper Dublin vs. Lower Moreland (7:00 PM)

Tues., February 6
MBB: Saint Joseph’s vs. Dayton (8:00 PM)

FSL Semifinals
Boys: Academy New Church vs. Friends Select (5:30 PM)
Boys: Friends’ Central vs. Westtown (5:30 PM)
Girls: Westtown vs. Shipley (5:30 PM)
Girls: Friends’ Central vs. ANC (7:00 PM) 

Boys: Public League Play-In

Boys: Episcopal vs. SCH Academy (4:00 PM)
Boys: Neshaminy vs. Bensalem (5:30 PM)
Boys: Malvern Prep vs. Penn Charter (7:00 PM)
Boys: Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. Wissahickon (7:00 PM)
Boys: Central Bucks East vs. North Penn (7:00 PM)
Boys: Marple Newtown vs. Penncrest (7:00 PM)
Boys: Garnet Valley vs. Conestoga (7:00 PM)
Boys: Chichester vs. Chester (7:00 PM)

Girls: Coatesville vs. Bishop Shanahan (6:45 PM)
Girls: Kennett vs. West Chester Rustin (6:45 PM)
Girls: Lansdale Catholic vs. Neumann-Goretti (7:00 PM)
Girls: Conestoga vs. Garnet Valley (7:00 PM)
Girls: North Penn vs. CB East (7:00 PM)
Girls: Neshaminy vs. Bensalem (7:15 PM) 

Wed., February 7
MBB: La Salle vs. Saint Louis (6:30 PM)
MBB: Villanova @ Xavier (7:00 PM)

Boys: Ches-Mont 1st Round

Boys: PAC Final Six @ Perk Valley
4) Methacton vs. 5) Perk Valley (6:00 PM)
3) Pottstown vs. 6) Norristown (7:30 PM)

Girls: Public League 1st Round

Boys: Faith Christian vs. Phil-Mont Christian (6:00 PM)
Boys: Pennridge vs. Bensalem (7:00 PM)
Boys: Neumann-Goretti vs. Devon Prep (7:00 PM)
Boys: Archbishop Carroll vs. West Catholic (7:00 PM)

Thurs., February 8
WBB: La Salle vs. Loyola (Chi.) (6:30 PM)
MBB: Drexel @ UNC-Wilmington (7:00 PM)
WBB: Saint Joseph’s @ George Mason (7:00 PM)
MBB: Temple vs. Memphis (7:00 PM) 

Girls: PAC Final Six @ Spring-Ford
3) Spring-Ford vs. 6) Norristown (6:00 PM)
4) Pope John Paul II vs. 5) Upper Merion (7:30 PM)

Boys: Public League First Round

Boys: Souderton vs. CR North (3:30 PM)
Boys: CB South vs. CR South (5:30 PM)
Boys: Church Farm vs. Delco Christian (7:00 PM)
Boys: Jenkintown vs. Dock Mennonite (7:00 PM)
Boys: Bonner vs. Archbishop Ryan (7:00 PM)
Boys: Penn Wood vs. Academy Park (7:00 PM)

Girls: Delco Christian vs. Faith Christian (4:00 PM)
Girls: Archbishop Carroll vs. West Catholic (6:00 PM)
Girls: Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. William Tennent (7:00 PM)
Girls: Nazareth Academy vs. Lansdale Catholic (7:00 PM)
Girls: CR South vs. CB South (7:00 PM)

Fri., February 9
Boys: PAC Final Four @ Perk Valley (6/7:30 PM)
1) Spring-Ford vs. TBD
2) Phoenixville vs. TBD

Boys/Girls: Friends Schools League Championships @ La Salle University (6:30/8 PM)

Girls: Public League 2nd Round

Boys: Penn Charter vs. Germantown Academy (7:00 PM)
Boys: Archbishop Carroll vs. Father Judge (7:00 PM)
Boys: Archbishop Wood vs. West Catholic (7:00 PM)
Boys: Devon Prep vs. Conwell-Egan (7:00 PM)
Boys: St. Joe’s Prep vs. Roman Catholic (7:00 PM)
Boys: SCH Academy vs. Malvern Prep (7:00 PM)
Boys: Haverford School vs. Episcopal Academy (7:00 PM)

Girls: Penn Charter vs. Germantown Academy (5:30 PM)

Sat., February 10
MBB: Saint Joseph’s vs. Saint Louis (12:30 PM)
MBB: La Salle @ Richmond (2:00 PM)
WBB: La Salle @ Duquesne (2:00 PM)
WBB: Penn vs. Princeton (2:00 PM)
WBB: Temple vs. South Florida (3:00 PM)
MBB: Ursinus vs. Gettysburg (3:00 PM)
WBB: Villanova @ Marquette (3:00 PM)
MBB: Drexel @ Charleston (3:30 PM)
MBB: Penn @ Princeton (5:00 PM)

Girls: PAC Final Four @ Perk Valley (6/7:30 PM)
Girls: Ches-Mont Semifinals @ WCU
Boys: Ches-Mont Semifinals @ WCU

Boys: Archbishop Ryan vs. Roman Catholic (6:00 PM)

Sun., February 11
MBB: Villanova vs. Seton Hall (12:00 PM)
WBB: Drexel vs. NC A&T (1:00 PM)
MBB: Temple vs. Charlotte (2:00 PM) 
Boys: Devon Prep vs. Cardinal O’Hara (2:30 PM)
Boys: Bonner-Prendergast vs. Neumann-Goretti (2:30 PM)
Boys: St. Joe’s Prep vs. Conwell-Egan (2:30 PM)