City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)
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With the flip of the calendar to 2016 comes a fresh start and a new year. The same happens for college teams at the beginning of January with the start of conference play.

So with the non-conference in the rear-view mirror (with the exception of a few Big 5 games later and La Salle's tilt with Florida Gulf Coast), we handed out grades for how teams in the CoBL coverage area did in the first seven weeks of the season:

Delaware Blue Hens
Record: 5-6
Best win: vs. South Florida, 67-58
Worst loss: @ Boston College, 69-61
Grade: C+

Explanation: The Hens have to be graded on a curve because of their incredible bad luck with injuries so far this season. First, they lost forward Eric Carter in the preseason with a torn ACL. Then, against Temple in late November, starter Chivarsky Corbett went down with his own ACL tear and will not return this season. Devonne Pinkard also has missed eight games, and Monte Ross’ roster is being spread thin. Still, the Hens managed five wins before CAA play, including a one-point road victory at Marist. Kory Holden and Marvin King-Davis have helped the team tread water and should keep it competitive in conference games.

Drexel Dragons
Record: 2-9
Best win: @ La Salle, 66-53
Worst loss: @ Alaska Anchorage, 71-65
Grade: D

Explanation: It’s not like the Dragons didn’t have their chances to win a few more games before they get started in the CAA. Drexel was in games against St. Joseph’s, High Point, Monmouth, San Diego, Alaska Anchorage and Penn State in the second half, but could not find ways to come out on top. It left Bruiser Flint frustrated, as did having another season full of injuries. Major Canady has not played yet for the Dragons, and Utah transfer Ahmad Fields has appeared in just the season opener. Drexel, however, did get some Philly bragging rights by pulling out games against La Salle and Penn.

La Salle Explorers
Record: 4-5
Best win: vs. Towson, 78-76
Worst loss: vs. Miami, 95-49
Grade: D

Explanation: So things started off well for La Salle this season. The Explorers won their first three games, doing so even without a fully healthy roster. But it’s gone downhill ever since. La Salle has won just one game – against Division-III Rowan – since Nov. 23. The Explorers are 0-3 against the City 6, and one of their latest losses was the worst in program history. La Salle has one more game (at Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday) before it gets into Atlantic 10 play, but it’s pretty clear this is more of a rebuilding season for the Explorers, who have three transfers sitting out.

Lafayette Leopards
Record: 3-8
Best win: vs. Saint Peter’s, 87-86 (OT)
Worst loss: vs. Fairleigh Dickinson, 91-89 (OT)
Grade: C-

Explanation: Lafayette had a rather promising first weekend to the season as the team played tough against George Washington and then topped Saint Peter’s in a frantic overtime comeback. But since then the Leopards have not been able to string much together. They beat Penn to erase their memories of a 52-point loss to Princeton. But they also suffered a home loss to Fairleigh Dickinson, one of their four defats in their final five non-con games.

Lehigh Mountain Hawks
Record: 2-9
Best win: vs. Mount St. Mary’s, 76-73
Worst loss: @ St. Francis (PA), 84-73
Grade: D-

Explanation: Lehigh wanted to test itself before it went into the Patriot League – where the team was picked as preseason favorites. The Mountain Hawks may have bit off too much to chew. Lehigh did not record a win against a Division-I opponent until Dec. 19 and lost its first seven games. Three of those losses came to Syracuse, Purdue and Virginia and the team also faced stiff competition against Yale, Columbia and Canisius. But Lehigh could not secure victories against either St. Francis (PA) or Robert Morris – albeit both on the road, but at least one victory in that pair could’ve set Lehigh in a better direction before facing conference opponents.

Penn Quakers
Record: 5-7
Best win: vs. La Salle, 80-64
Worst loss: at Lafayette, 92-86
Grade: C+

Explanation: Penn got off to a great start in Steve Donahue’s first year, winning its first three games and four of its first five. In a year of re-shuffling for the Quakers, and without Tony Hicks, the team is finding out what its identity is and who needs to do what in order for Penn to be successful. Penn’s schedule got much tougher after the first two weeks and the team has not beat a D-I opponent since before Thanksgiving, but Donahue should be able to make his team competitive in the Ivy League.

Penn State Nittany Lions
Record: 9-4
Best win: vs. Kent State, 75-69
Worst loss: vs. Radford, 86-74
Grade: B

Explanation: With an early home loss to Radford, it seemed like the Nittany Lions could be in for a long season. However, they bounced back nicely and had themselves a nice non-con slate which showed glimpses of what the team could be in the future. The Lions topped Boston College on the road, beat Kent State on a neutral court and picked up a comeback win over Drexel at the Palestra. Penn State’s record will likely go south in Big Ten play, but for a relatively young team, they experienced some solid November/December wins.

Temple Owls
Record: 5-5
Best win: vs. Minnesota, 75-70
Worst loss: vs. St. Joe’s, 66-65 (OT)
Grade: C

Explanation: The Owls had a bevy of early season challenges as their first four games came against North Carolina and in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Tournament. Temple went 1-3 in that span, and fell short while the team kept it close against Butler and Utah. The Owls also lost on the road at Wisconsin, so while they had their chances for a marquee win, they could not secure one. The game Temple probably wishes it had back the most, though, is an overtime home loss to St. Joe’s earlier this month. Of course Temple went on to top No. 22 Cincinnati in its AAC opener, so the Owls could make their non-con struggles irrelevant in conference play.

St. Joe’s Hawks
Record: 10-2
Best win: at Temple, 66-65 (OT)
Worst loss: vs. Florida, 73-64
Grade: A

Explanation: The Hawks had quite an impressive first two months. They lost just twice, to big names in Florida and Villanova, but topped everyone else they faced, including Old Dominion, Virginia Tech, Temple and a road test at Columbia. The Hawks put themselves in position to reach some sort of postseason tournament, and with a strong start to the Atlantic 10 season, they could put themselves on the NCAA bubble.

Villanova Wildcats
Record: 10-2
Best win: vs. Akron, 75-56
Worst loss: vs. Oklahoma, 78-55
Grade: B

Explanation: The Wildcats had two chances for a signature non-conference win, but came up short in both. They fell to Oklahoma by 23 in a game where they could not hit a 3-pointer and then lost on the road at Virginia – both opponents are now ranked in the AP top 5. Otherwise, the Wildcats took care of business, winning the preseason NIT and knocking off Akron, St. Joe’s and Nebraska. Villanova will have plenty of opportunities in the Big East, starting Thursday against No. 6 Xavier.