The Big 5 started off HOT! Is college basketball back in the City of Brotherly Love? Will we have more bids than the entire Big East had last year? Probably not. It was a slobberknocker in almost every single game. A lot of slow starts, a lot of back and forth, and not a lot of spreads covered.

Here’s a round-up of everything. We’ve got Big 5 Action, yo!

Temple

The stars were out on North Broad to watch the NCAA’s Most Wanted:

It was tighter than expected as Sacred Heart rallied to a 10 point lead in the first half and it was tight the rest of the way until the Owls pulled away in the second half. Can’t get out-rebounded by Sacred Heart and 16 turnovers is too much, but they showed how deep they run after the bench scored almost 33% of their points.

I am officially declaring Jamal Mashburn Jr. HIM.


26 points from the Minnessota transfer:

Play of the night:

Did they cover? No. A team in desperate need of a cover just to get some heat off their backs because, you know, didn’t cover.

 

Villanova

Lets head over to a three-bid league where the Big East fluffers are already trying to pad Nova’s resume for March:

With Eric Dixon missing the game because of one of the dumbest rules in the NCAA. It was a lot like the Temple game. Back and forth with nine lead changes in the first half until the Cats went on a 13-2 run six minutes into the second half and never looked back.

Wooga Poplar led the Cats with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Speaking of Wooga, there is no shot the wine and cheese crowd out on the Main Line are going to be able to pronounce half the names on this roster:

Play of the night. My goodness:

Did they cover? Not even close. The Cats were 20.5 point favorites.

La Salle

La Salle opened a new arena. Gone are the rows that extend vertically 100 feet in the air. It’s now an intimate spot that looks pretty sick to watch a basketball game. Feels like the crowd is on top of the players which will provide an even better atmosphere:

No announcements yet on what they’ve done with the old smoke machine.

I’m pretty sure Daeshon Shepherd might be able to fly. This is how you open a new arena:

Game was closer than it the final score let on. The Explorers and American Eagles (don’t know how that hasn’t been a lawsuit) traded buckets most of the first half until La Salle went up 11 heading into the break. Coming out of the locker room the Eagles got the game to within three. The Explorers stifled the attack and went up 13 and the Eagles never recovered. If we don’t have a President after tonight then maybe the Explorers can be declared the winner for a couple hours. They own Washington D.C. They’ve won four straight against opponents from D.C. (h/t GoExplorers.com)

Play of the night. Not to make this all about Temple, but I’m going to make it all about Temple because I can. First points in Glaser Arena come from a former Temple player, Jahlil White, coached by a former Temple coach, Fran Dunphy:

Did they cover? Yes.

St. Joes

St. Joes has the best backcourt in the Big 5 and Erik Reynolds is probably the best player in it. He paced St Joes with 29 points:

His running mate Xzayvier Brown, who worked with Kyle Lowry this summer, went off for 22. St. Joes might get smoked on the boards this year, but they are going to score so many points. They’re easily the most exciting team to watch in the city and there’s no reason why this team shouldn’t compete for a bubble spot in the tournament.

Play of the Night. A ridiculous and-1 from Xzayvier Brown. PCL tough:

Did they cover? No. Lot of Big 5 teams got off to a slow start including St. Joes who was down double digits to Navy halfway through the first half as 16.5 point favorites.

Penn

 

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Penn was lucky to escape this one. They were down double digits most of the game and at one point 17 in the second half before going on a 23-5 run in the last 13 minutes. Look at these Quakers actually show some fight! How does a team only score five points in the last 13 minutes? This was brutal. Both teams shot in the 30% margin from the field and in the 20% threshold from three. There were only 12 fastbreak points. If you love basketball when it was played in black and white you should’ve been in Newark, NJ.

Play of the night: I don’t even know if this game had one single camera in the arena. I can’t find any video on social media. For all I know it didn’t happen. Just close your eyes and imagine a white guy shooting a deep three and I think you get the gist.

Did they cover? No.

Drexel

I’ll throw Drexel a bone since they now get to participate in the Big 5 Classic. The boys in University City BLEW OUT a college that I don’t think is even real. They’re so bad it’s one of those teams that ESPN doesn’t even have a logo for on the app. If you know where Georgian Court is located congratulations. You’re a real college basketball sicko. Apparently they’re a D2 college out of Lakewood, NJ. Well they traveled 75 miles on 295 to have their butts WHOOPED by 50.

Play of the night. Gimme that!

Did they cover? I don’t even think there was a line, but if you could find one it’s safe to say they did.