City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Two weeks into the season, we’ve already learned plenty about the Big 5 squads — the good, the bad, and plenty in between. With every team in the city having played at least its first three games, we’ve gotten enough data to sort through the Big 5 for the first time this year.

Without further ado, our men’s Big 5 rankings through the first couple weeks of the 2024-25 season: 

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* = Game was played on a neutral court

6) Penn Quakers
Record: 2-2 (0-1 Big 5)
Recent Results: @ NJIT (W, 58-57), vs. UMES (W, 85-84), @ Lafayette (L, 65-63), vs. St. Joe’s (L, 86-69)

Overview: The Quakers were picked seventh in the Ivy League’s preseason poll, and while there’s a few signs they might be better than that in the Ancient Eight, they haven’t yet clicked in any of their first four games. That’s especially true defensively, where they’re 346th nationally (out of 364 teams) according to KenPom, giving up 1.126 points per possession and getting crushed on the glass (328th in defensive rebound percentage). Transfers Ethan Roberts (15.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg) and Dylan Williams (11.0 ppg) have provided good offense, but if the Quakers can’t learn to get stops, it’s going to be a long season. They also haven’t been shooting well from the 3-point arc (32.7%), a surprising number for a team with a handful of quality perimeter threats.

5) Villanova Wildcats
Record: 2-3 (0-1 Big 5)
Recent Results: vs. Lafayette (W, 75-63), vs. Columbia (L, 90-80), vs. NJIT (W, 91-54), @ St. Joe’s (L, 83-76), *vs. Virginia (L, 70-60)

Overview: You don’t need us to tell you it hasn’t been a great start in Kyle Neptune’s third season on the Main Line. The Wildcats only have wins over two teams ranked below No. 250 in the KenPom rankings, and have dropped from No. 20 to No. 73 through their first five games. Eric Dixon (24.8 ppg, 8.3 rpg) is doing his thing, but the WIldcats haven’t gotten enough of a presence up front from Enoch Boakye (6.0 ppg, 6.2 rpg), and they haven’t been getting enough (or really, much of any) production from their bench. Oh, and 3-point defense (39.7%) has been a real concern, as the team’s overall defensive efficiency (1.016 ppp, 108th nationally) is currently its worst number in the KenPom era.

4) Drexel Dragons
Record: 2-2 (0-2 Big 5)
Recent Results: vs. Georgian Court (W, 95-43), vs. Colgate (W, 73-56), @ Temple (L, 69-61), vs. La Salle (L, 71-68)

Overview: There’s a significant jump from No. 5 to No. 4, as the Dragons — certainly not thrilled about dropping two Big 5 games in the last week — nevertheless still have plenty to be optimistic about despite some negative results. Aside from forcing turnovers (357th nationally), Drexel’s been overall strong defensively with 6-8 redshirt junior Cole Hargrove (12.3 ppg, 11.0 rpg) playing the best hoops of his life in the middle. Kobe MaGee (17.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg) has risen to meet the challenge of being the team’s go-to offensive option, and 18 points from JUCO transfer Jason Drake (8.3 ppg) against La Salle was a good sign, as well. Drexel has a tough non-con, with at least four games left against teams ranked in the top 175 on KenPom (including No. 33 Penn State on Dec. 21), but it could prepare them for a quality CAA run.

3) Temple Owls
Record: 3-1 (1-0 Big 5)
Recent Results: vs. Sacred Heart (W, 81-70), *vs. Monmouth (W, 103-74), vs. Drexel (W, 69-61), @ Boston College (L, 72-69)

Overview: The Owls were right there in the mix for the top spot until the loss at Boston College on Friday. It’s not an awful one, for sure, but one they might regret not getting after an 11-for-18 performance from the foul line and the fact that they had a four-point lead with eight minutes to play — then went scoreless for 11 straight possessions. Jamal Mashburn Jr. (23.5 ppg) has been every bit as good as advertised, freshmen Babatunde Durodola (7.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg) and Dillon Battie (6.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg) have had flashes, they just got Fordham transfer Elijah Gray back from a preseason injury and Lynn Greer III has five games left to sit out his suspension. They’re going to be interesting to follow this season, and that’s a start. The non-con has plenty of 50/50 games remaining, starting with Florida State and UMass in Connecticut next week.

2) La Salle Explorers
Record: 4-0 (1-0 Big 5)
Recent Results: vs. American (W, 65-52), vs. Lafayette (W, 81-60), vs. Cornell (W, 93-77), @ Drexel (W, 71-68)

Overview: If there’s been one team that’s really opened eyes coming out of the gates, it’s been Fran Dunphy’s Explorers. There’s 4-0 for the second year in a row, but are ranked 72 spots higher on the KenPom ratings this year, currently No. 121 — which is ninth-best in the A-10, well higher than the 15th they were picked preseason, and only 37 spots behind the No. 3 ranked team in the league (Loyola Chicago). In other words, they’re playing like a team that should be in the mix. Rider transfer Corey McKeithan (18.0 ppg) has been scoring at a pace he hasn’t since high school, Jahlil White (14.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and Demetrius Lilley (10.8 ppg, 9.0) have also fit right in and Dunphy’s able to go nine deep on his bench without losing much productivity. 

1) Saint Joseph’s Hawks
Record: 3-1 (2-0 Big 5)
Recent Results: vs. Navy (W, 70-63), vs. CCSU (L, 73-67), vs. Villanova (W, 83-76), @ Penn (W, 86-69)

Overview: Let’s get it out of the way first — yes, the loss to Central Connecticut State was bad, though at least the Blue Devils are picked to win the Northeast Conference, are packed full of seniors, and hit some crazy deep/contested 3-pointers to hold on. But the Hawks bounced back strong by taking down Villanova in a wild atmosphere at Hagan Arena on Tuesday and then demolished Penn, going up by 31 late in the second half before the Penn deep reserves made the final score respectable over the closing nine minutes. Xzayvier Brown (16.8 ppg, 6.3 apg) has been outstanding on the ball, Rasheer Fleming (13.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg) has had stretches of dominance, and Derek Simpson (11.8 ppg) has woken up the last two games. And that’s without mentioning Erik Reynolds II (12.4 ppg), who’s shooting an uncharacteristic 8-of-33 (24.2%) from deep after making 38% each at high volume of the last two years.