City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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The 2024-25 Division I basketball regular season is winding down, with all of the Big 5 squads either starting conference tournaments this week or with just one or two games left until tournaments next week. That makes this a great time to check back in around the city to see how things are shaping up for each of the six programs.

Here’s a look at the women’s teams:

Drexel Dragons
Overall record: 16-0
Conf. record: 12-4 Coastal Athletic Association
Last 10: 8-2
Postseason outlook: The Dragons are currently tied with Charleston for the No. 2 seed in the CAA, a game behind NC A&T, after losing to fourth-place Campbell (11-5 CAA) at home on Sunday. With two games left in the regular season on the road at Delaware (8-8) and Stony Brook (6-10), holding a head-to-head tiebreaker over Charleston and having split with Campbell, there’s still plenty that could happen for the Dragons, but either way they’re guaranteed a top-four spot and bye into the CAA quarterfinals on Friday, March 14 in Washington D.C. The defending CAA champs have been playing well all of 2025, and are certainly a threat to repeat in a couple weeks, behind a career year from senior Amaris Baker (17.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg).

La Salle Explorers
Overall record: 9-22
Conf. record: 3-15 Atlantic 10
Last 10: 2-8
Postseason outlook: The Explorers finished in the bottom four of the A-10 for the second year in a row, picking up two fewer league wins this season than a year ago. La Salle enters the A-10 tournament as the No. 14 seed, playing in Wednesday’s first round (4:30 PM, ESPN+) against No. 11 VCU — the same team the Explorers beat on Saturday to close out the year, overcoming a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit for a little momentum heading into the postseason. They have been getting healthier down the stretch, welcoming back leading scorers Ashleigh Connor (11.3 ppg) and Aryss Macktoon (10.5 ppg) after injuries cost them four and 11 games, respectively.

Penn Quakers
Overall record: 15-11
Conf. record: 6-7 Ivy League
Last 10: 5-5
Postseason outlook: The Quakers lost five of their first six Ivy League games but rallied with wins in five of the six that followed to move a game ahead of Brown for the fourth and final spot in the Ivy Madness tournament. With Brown playing Yale (3-10 Ivy) in its last game of the season, Penn needs a win over archrival Princeton (11-2) to secure a spot in the playoffs; with a loss and a Brown win, the two will be tied. Penn and Brown split their season series and both have identical records against the rest of the league, so it would likely come down to NET rankings; the NCAA’s rankings as of Feb. 28 had Penn at No. 163 and Brown at No. 183, but that doesn’t factor in Brown’s Saturday win over Cornell or Penn’s loss to Harvard.

Saint Joseph’s Hawks
Overall record: 21-8
Conf. record: 12-6 Atlantic 10
Last 10: 6-4
Postseason outlook: The Hawks were in contention for an Atlantic 10 regular-season crown a few weeks back, but stumbled down the stretch, losing four of their final five regular-season games — including two to Richmond, who finished the regular season atop the standings. St. Joe’s enters the A-10 tourney as the No. 4 seed behind George Mason and Davidson, but that’s good enough for a double-bye into Friday’s quarterfinals. It’s possible they could see No. 5 Rhode Island at that point, the same team that beat them at the same point in last year’s A-10 tourney. They’ve been getting great play down the stretch from sophomore wing Aleah Snead, who went from averaging 3.8 ppg during non-league play to 9.0 ppg in A-10 competition.

Temple Owls
Overall record: 18-10
Conf. record: 12-5 American Athletic Conference
Last 10: 6-4
Postseason outlook: Diane Richardson’s Owls hit a bit of a rough patch, losing three straight at the end of January/beginning of February, but have rallied with wins in six of the seven since, including five straight after beating Rice by 20 on Friday at home. That’s moved Temple into sole  possession of fourth place in the AAC, with only a regular-season finale against Charlotte (4-13 AAC) between them and the postseason; they can’t finish third, as they lost both games against South Florida (13-4), and are two games ahead of fifth-place Tulsa. That gives the Owls a bye into the quarterfinals on March 10, though their potential opponent is still very much up in the air. 

Villanova Wildcats
Overall record: 17-13
Conf. record: 11-7 Big East
Last 10: 7-3
Postseason outlook: The Wildcats closed out their season on Sunday with a loss at Creighton, locking them into the No. 5 seed in the upcoming Big East tournament at Mohegan Sun (Conn.), ahead of six teams with a losing record in conference play. That gives them a bye into the quarterfinals against No. 4 seed Marquette on Saturday (2:30 PM, FS2). Villanova and Marquette split their meetings this year, each winning on their home court, Marquette by five and Villanova by 12. Freshman guard Jasmine Bascoe (16.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg) has had a stellar rookie campaign.

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Here’s a look at the men’s teams:

Drexel Dragons
Overall record: 17-14
Conf. record: 9-9 Coastal Athletic Association
Last 10: 5-5
Postseason outlook: The Dragons rallied to win their final four games of the season, earning them the eighth seed in the CAA championships, which begin Friday in Washington, D.C. Drexel will open in the second round against No. 9 Elon, which it lost to 65-54 on Jan. 16, part of a straight of eight losses in 11 games that occupied most of January and half of February. Interestingly, Drexel has fared well against the top seeds in the CAA, taking Towson to OT and UNCW to 2OT, so if this momentum continues, they could surprise some folks in the nation’s capital. 

La Salle Explorers
Overall record: 12-17
Conf. record: 4-12 Atlantic 10
Last 10: 2-8
Postseason outlook: La Salle’s strong start to the season (6-2) is well in the rearview mirror at this point. The Explorers have lost seven straight and 10 of their last 12 overall to fall one spot above the A-10 basement, with two games left in the regular season. This might not be the highlight of Fran Dunphy’s career, but this is the last run for the Big 5 legend, and one imagines the regular-season finale against Saint Joseph’s on Saturday will be quite the emotional affair. The exact seed and opponent is still TBD, but they’ll play a first-round game on March 12. Advancing much beyond Thursday’s second round will be an accomplishment. 

Penn Quakers
Overall record: 8-18
Conf. record: 4-9
Last 10: 3-7
Postseason outlook: The Quakers are officially out of the Ivy League postseason, their second straight season where they’ll be left out of the playoffs. To be frank, it’s been a completely forgettable season for Penn, as the Ivy League looks like it’s Yale’s for the taking; the Bulldogs are No. 73 on KenPom, 76 slots above Cornell (7-5) and 115 slots above Dartmouth (8-5), the surprise of the league. With at most nine wins if they beat Princeton in the season finale, this will be Penn’s worst season in 10 years under head coach Steve Donahue.

Saint Joseph’s Hawks
Overall record: 19-10
Conf. record: 10-6 Atlantic 10
Last 10: 7-3
Postseason outlook: The Hawks are right in the mix for a top-four spot and critical double-bye in the A-10 tournament, currently tied with Dayton, Loyola (Chi.) and Saint Louis for the third through sixth spots with two games to play. St. Joe’s has an advantageous schedule ahead with games against Rhode Island (6-10) and La Salle (4-12); Saint Louis and Dayton play each other as well as another team in the top half of the league. There’s too many different ways for this to break to get a truly clear picture, but there’s no doubt that the Hawks need two wins to feel good. Oh, and Erik Reynolds II is going to break Jameer Nelson’s scoring record on Wednesday, as he needs just three points to do it.

Temple Owls
Overall record: 15-14
Conf. record: 7-9 American Athletic Conference
Last 10: 3-7
Postseason outlook: The Owls were in decent shape as the calendar turned to February, sitting at 6-3 in the AAC, but then proceeded to lose six in a row — two in overtime and three others by single digits — to drop into the bottom half of the league with two games left in the regular season. Temple, which made a surprise run to the AAC championship game a year ago as the No. 11 seed, might have to conjure up that magic again. The Owls close the season with Tulsa (5-11) and North Texas (12-3), and with only the No. 12 and No. 13 seeds playing in the opening round in a slightly-smaller AAC this year, Temple’s guaranteed of playing in the second round on March 13, with the seed and opponent very much still up in the air. 

Villanova Wildcats
Overall record: 18-12
Conf. record: 11-8 Big East
Last 10: 6-4
Postseason outlook: Kyle Neptune’s Wildcats have won six of their last eight, shaking off a 2-7 stretch that occupied most of January, but they’re still sitting in sixth place in the 11-team Big East. There’s just one game left in the regular season, at Georgetown (7-11) on Tuesday, and a win would be a big help in terms of securing the fifth seed, the final one which gets a bye into the league quarterfinals (March 13); seeds six through 11 all have to play in the opening round at Madison Square Garden next Wednesday.