Final. pic.twitter.com/fmHnCG7Rp8

— Villanova MBB (@NovaMBB) November 7, 2024

I’m serious. Because you want your most hated rival to be good. It’s not fun when they’re whipped up on constantly, year after year, and giving up 90 points to the team picked to finish fifth in the Ivy League. It’s not fun when they’re paying these guys to come down to the Main Line and they lose by double digits. Because it doesn’t make it satisfying when you beat them. You want to beat the best and Villanova is so clearly not the best team in the city right now, no matter what KenPom ranked them in the beginning of the season. So when they lose again this early you start to kind of feel bad for how the mighty have fallen. You wonder if this is just a road bump or now the standard. How much longer can the boosters shell out millions of dollars in NIL money when they’re losing to teams like Portland, DePaul, and finishing last in the Big 5? People will blame it on the transfer portal. How about blaming it on the coach who has no sense of fundamentals or making in-game adjustments? Eric Dixon was on an island out there Wednesday night. If he doesn’t go off for 30+ they probably lose that game by 20. It’s getting so bad out on the Main Line it’s starting to affect Jay Wright’s legacy because he hand picked his successor. These last three seasons have taken Villanova from a potential Blue Blood program to a school that had a good stretch in the 2010s and a lucky run in 1985. That Virginia/Nova game is going to be like when Manny Pacquiao fought Floyd Mayweather, but it was obvious they were both way past their prime. Nova is turning into Georgetown right in front of our eyes.

The post Villanova Gave up 90 Points and Lost a Buy Game to Columbia appeared first on Crossing Broad.

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

Temple

WE WIN!!!!#Team129 pic.twitter.com/BfBNFbndjc

— Temple Men’s Basketball (@TUMBBHoops) November 5, 2024

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

The stars are all out tonight on North Broad pic.twitter.com/kWHIGv0HPq

— Kyle Pagan (@CBKylePagan) November 5, 2024

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:

Couldn’t ask for a sweeter way to get your first collegiate bucket #Team129 pic.twitter.com/z8vXspz4Uk

— Temple Men’s Basketball (@TUMBBHoops) November 4, 2024

Play of the night:

Couldn’t ask for a sweeter way to get your first collegiate bucket #Team129 pic.twitter.com/z8vXspz4Uk

— Temple Men’s Basketball (@TUMBBHoops) November 4, 2024

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:

Year 3 is Kyle Neptune’s year it appears pic.twitter.com/c5Q1RbrRZ8

— ky (ALL IN) (@RealKYMuskie) November 5, 2024

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:

It’s gonna take 15 games for Villanova fans to learn how to pronounce the names on the roster: pic.twitter.com/PPJfDOT23w

— Steve Franklin (@MyGuySteve) November 5, 2024

Play of the night. My goodness:

This Enoch Boakye slam was my play-of-the-day last night. Great look by Tyler Perkins, sensing a double team, and even even better finish by Boakye

Villanova was completely devoid of a physical paint presence last year, but looks like they may have found their guy this year pic.twitter.com/4IOwVnHzmW

— Tommy Godin (@tommygodinjr) November 5, 2024

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

La Salle

1-0 in John Glaser Arena#GoExplorers pic.twitter.com/7MNuqcgnXk

— La Salle Men’s Basketball (@LaSalle_MBB) November 5, 2024

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:

Appreciation post for La Salle’s new arena. pic.twitter.com/HfREL915tl

— Michael Fiore (@fiore_michael) November 5, 2024

The new home pic.twitter.com/0eQiM54riw

— Olney Fans (@TheGolaStandard) November 4, 2024

Vibes in Glaser are #GoExplorers pic.twitter.com/OaZOfTKjLt

— La Salle Men’s Basketball (@LaSalle_MBB) November 5, 2024

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:

The first @Dshepherd022 alley-oop in John Glaser Arena pic.twitter.com/iBqJZi3DkD

— Olney Fans (@TheGolaStandard) November 5, 2024

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:

Jahlil White with the first ever bucket at John Glaser Arena pic.twitter.com/ZFtBYumiMv

— Olney Fans (@TheGolaStandard) November 5, 2024

Did they cover? Yes.

St. Joes

Hawks Win!#THWND pic.twitter.com/VMKpC9a1Ch

— SJU Hawks MBB (@SJUHawks_MBB) November 5, 2024

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:

Erik Reynolds II today in the win against Navy.

29 Points
2 Assists
9/17 FG
6/13 3FG

Reynolds had a huge season debut where he showcased his high level shooting ability along with his scoring ability. pic.twitter.com/6JGIPGjFU1

— KJ (@KJ__Hoops) November 5, 2024

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:

Xzayvier Brown with the swipe at one end, and the ridiculous bucket at the other! #THWND pic.twitter.com/hLFPnwa1FW

— SJU Hawks MBB (@SJUHawks_MBB) November 5, 2024

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

First of many. #FearTheDragon pic.twitter.com/5lkHELheel

— Drexel Men’s Basketball (@DrexelMBB) November 5, 2024

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!

Clem with the swat #FearTheDragon pic.twitter.com/gmNOai3MNh

— Drexel Men’s Basketball (@DrexelMBB) November 5, 2024

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.

The post The Big 5 Went Undefeated On Opening Night appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Donte Divencenzo wishing Brunson the best of luck this season. Friendly banter between former teammates! pic.twitter.com/KLb5KkhDUA

— james (@futtywap) October 13, 2024

Now the Internet originally thought DiVincenzo was talking to Thibs. But at the end of the game he had to be separated from Patrick Ewing.

Yes Patrick Ewing:

Donte Divencenzo and Jalen Brunson’s dad looked ready to swing on each other

THIS LEAGUE

pic.twitter.com/LpHok85d69

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 14, 2024

Spicy! It’s only the preseason folks! The real stuff doesn’t start for another nine days!

In typical Internet fashion story was entirely wrong. It turns out he was joking with Thibs about not being able to finish and then directed his anger to Rick Brunson, which was not a joke:

As far as clip circulating of Donte at foul line, DiVincenzo said he was joking with Thibs about not being able to finish. Donte said he never said, “Thanks for trade.” The stuff with Rick Brunson wasn’t joking, however, including when he looked at Knicks bench (not at Thibs) and…

— Stefan Bondy (@SbondyNBA) October 14, 2024

He clarified further that he wasn’t talking to Thibs after the game and he never said thanks for the trade:

Donte DiVincenzo says that he was not talking to Tom Thibodeau about being traded to the Timberwolves when he yelled towards the Knicks’ bench during the game tonight: pic.twitter.com/SfMNclGOhv

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) October 14, 2024

So is Rick Brunson secretly the straw stirring the drink in New York? Is he running this team like an AAU dad who gets all of his son’s friends to play and making shady deals on the side? Is he going to be running the show when the organization sours on Thibs after he runs these guys into the ground a season after a grueling playoff run? I can’t wait for the stuff to leak out after Littlefinger Brunson starts working behind the scenes. This is exactly what we need. Internal turmoil in the Knicks org. How are they going to handle a little taste of success and the scrutiny of the NY media when all eyes will be on them after the MLB postseason.

At least they’ll always have this GQ shoot:

Headlining the newest @GQMagazine: Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart… and Donte DiVincenzo pic.twitter.com/bCUQIiX5G4

— The Strickland (@TheStrickland) October 10, 2024

The post Donte DiVincenzo and Patrick Ewing Were Separated After the Knicks Game appeared first on Crossing Broad.

This is crazy lol

— Mikal Bridges (@mikal_bridges) June 26, 2024

This is ridiculous. It was bad enough watching these guys dominate Temple. Now I have to watch them dominate the East together. Why’d it have to be Mikal Bridges? The only one I liked. WHO COULD BE ON THE SIXERS!

There has to be some sort of tampering charge the league can levy against the Knicks somehow. Look at this:

pic.twitter.com/42MK5MA40c

— Josh Hart (@joshhart) June 26, 2024

They did a forensic investigation throughout the Sixers organization for guys like PJ Tucker and Danuel House when Mikal Bridges was publicly cheating on the Nets with these guys:

 

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A post shared by @courtsidebuzzig

How is forcing your trade and handcuffing your team because you want to play with your friends not illegal? If I’m ever commissioner that’s 82 game suspensions for all four of them:

The Mikal Bridges deal came together quickly after Bridges informed the Nets that he wanted to be a Knick. Bridges was prepared to sign with NYK and his side was prepared to use that leverage to keep other teams from trading for him, per SNY sources.

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) June 26, 2024

Nets surely didn’t want to trade Mikal Bridges to NYK but Bridges’ side was prepared to force the issue by telling teams he wanted to be w/NYK, per SNY sources. Bridges’ side made it clear to BKN that he wanted to be w/NYK, reunite w/Villanova teammates Brunson, Hart, DiVincenzo

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) June 26, 2024

Look at the Main Line arrogance:

This is crazy lol

— Mikal Bridges (@mikal_bridges) June 26, 2024

“This is crazy lol!”

How could Mikal have ever seen this coming.

I don’t know what’s worse the Knicks being good, Nova fans jumping ship to the Knicks, or Stephen A’s happiness:

https://t.co/cS8dL5GFSC pic.twitter.com/f9f6MblDmT

— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) June 26, 2024

The only saving grace if you’re a Sixers fan is the Knicks gave up a shit ton to go all in:

The Knicks are sending four unprotected picks (2025, 2027, 2029, 2031) a 2025 protected Milwaukee first, a 2028 unprotected pick swap and a 2025 second-round pick for Mikal Bridges and a 2026 second-round pick, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/E4pTq3wCMP

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 26, 2024

Gotta hope and pray this means they lose both OG Anunoby and Isaiah Hartenstein. Maybe the Sixers make a more competitive offer to Anunoby. Maybe they trade tonight for Brandon Ingram. All I know is the NBA offseason is officially upon us and it’s so much better than the regular season.

I can’t believe we just made Temple Basketball Great Again and they pull this shit:

The post This is My Nightmare… appeared first on Crossing Broad.

It’s on. Time to run it back. #Attitude pic.twitter.com/JLJGHKM43o

— Villanova MBB (@NovaMBB) May 28, 2024

Dixon was Nova’s best player this past season. 16.6 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per game, a second team All Big East selection who was the Wildcats’ top scorer in 16 of their 34 games. He’s a solid power forward with a nice post and midrange game, and really good from the stripe, but now also a career 37.1% three point shooter after adding that to his game in year #3. He’s a borderline NBA player, and already 23 years old, so maybe that ship has sailed, but if he has another great year as a legitimate stretch 4, you never know who may come calling.

Now, if you’re a Temple alum like Kyle Pagan and more than 50% of the Philly sports media, you may not care about this. But the Big 5 has been ass for a couple of seasons now. Someone needs to turn the corner and actually make the tournament again. Nova with Dixon is the best shot, then maybe St. Joe’s after the season they had. But if you’re a neutral, you’re pulling for Nova. Nova is a fine institution and receives too much slander from local ingrates.

Go Cats Go!

The post Eric Dixon Returning for his 47th Season at Villanova appeared first on Crossing Broad.

“In their eyes, we’re not a Philly school. But when we win, apparently we’re a Philly school.”

– Jalen Brunson on Villanova pic.twitter.com/okVKWy9meO

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 24, 2024

Well to certain people i.e. Nova fans you are. But I can promise Jalen that not one person who rooted for Temple, LaSalle, Drexel, St. Joes or Penn ever considered Villanova a Philly school. Before or after they won. And now we never will after that tweet. I’d say the exact same thing if Temple’s program or any other team from the Big 5 tweeted it. “Well Kyle there aren’t any Temple alum in the NBA currently for them to tweet about.” For now I retort! For now.

There might not be an argument more played out in Philly than the one asking, “Is Villanova a Philly school?” Nova people will say they don’t care (they do). They hate not being accepted. The rest of the Big 5 will say they are not (it’s true). Hell Jay Wright thinks Nova is a Philly school (he’s biased) and was worried about having the 2016 National Championship parade in Center City:

 

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A post shared by Crossing Broad (@crossingbroad)

I guess the argument to be made is what do you consider a Philly school? Some argue the Wildcats play in the Wells Fargo Center so they can be considered one. I argue that you have to be in the Philly city limits. St. Joes is half of a Philly school because part of campus is in Philly and the other is in Lower Merion.

Josh Hart was asked a version of the same question and either he mis-heard it or didn’t understand what the reporter was saying because the answer doesn’t entirely make sense:

Villanova’s MBB account posted a highlight reel of Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson, and Donte DiVincenzo’s performances in the series. Hart is asked about it being received negatively by Philly fans:

“I think it’s idiotic that Philly fans are mad about that…Villanova is in our blood” pic.twitter.com/nrqQKKMEfL

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 24, 2024

Villanova obviously uses their accounts as a recruiting tool. All Villanova basketball cares about is Villanova basketball and they should. I’m sure they’d tweet out the same thing tonight if Kyle Lowry scores 26 and wins the game for the Sixers. Most people were just upset after their favorite team lost. Now in my mind the Nova account could read the room better, but you gotta strike while the iron is hot on the Internet. Retweets and likes are currency in 2024. Still that tweet will now forever firmly plant the flag on Lancaster Ave as, “Not a Philly school.” in plenty of people’s minds.

Not gonna lie it was a fun 24 hours of arguing. It’s always a good time to lob some dynamite into the social media waters and see how many fish you can catch. But all fun times have to come to an end. Sometimes the arguments takes such a left turn that you’re wondering how we even got here. Enter WIP:

Should the Sixers take down the Nova banners from the Wells Fargo Center before tomorrow night?

— 94WIP Afternoons (@AfternoonsWIP) April 24, 2024

Yes. They shouldn’t be up there anyway. But they need to come down before tipoff tomorrow. https://t.co/1i7GCqfQ5T

— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) April 24, 2024

Shame on me for even breathing life into this, but even I think it would be insane to take the Nova banners down and I HATE Villanova. Nova has played enough games at the Wells Fargo Center to call it home. They’re also the most successful team to play in the arena. If we’re taking down Nova banners then we should’ve never raised the ones of a piano and guitar player from Knicks country:

via Wells Fargo Center’s Wikipedia

I can guarantee the Wildcats have had more sellouts than the Boss and Billy Joel combined.

The post Jalen Brunson: “In Their Eyes [Villanova] Is Not a Philly School, But When We Win Apparently We Are” appeared first on Crossing Broad.

“I think we have the right guy in place to get us where we need to go,” Villanova AD Mark Jackson said.

Villanova remains committed to Kyle Neptune.

Story:https://t.co/qwFNZdqO8K

— Jeff Neiburg (@Jeff_Neiburg) March 21, 2024

Villanova is not the David Tepper of college sports, i.e. they aren’t going to make rash decisions, or rush to judgment, or jump the gun. Jay Wright started with two-straight NIT appearances and went 33-33 in seasons two and three. They could have fired him then, in 2004, but they did not. They could have fired him in 2012, when the Cats went 13-19 after a string of seven tournament appearances in a row. But they didn’t, and the rest is history.

Neptune was Wright’s longtime assistant, so it was always understood that he’d get some time to settle in and find his footing in the NIL world that Wright didn’t have to navigate. But this isn’t 2001, and we’re not transitioning out of the underwhelming Steve Lappas era. Villanova is a blue blood and the job was to sustain that success and remain near the top. They haven’t done it, and haven’t come close to it. Neptune went 17-17 in his first year and 18-16 in his second year, with both seasons coming to an end with NIT first round home losses.

Whatever you think about Nova, that’s not good enough. You can be Wildcat hater Kyle Pagan or Wildcat neutral Kevin Kinkead or Wildcat alumnus Kyle Scott. Everybody knows that there’s a standard that has not been met, and it’s more than fair to ask yourself if Neptune has shown anything to be excited about. Seriously. Ask yourself if there’s been any moment over the last two seasons where you said to yourself, “you know what? I think this is the right guy for the job.” There was a fleeting moment after the Battle 4 Atlantis, and that’s probably it. I don’t know anybody outside of Mark Jackson who believes that Neptune is Villanova’s coach of the future.

The post Villanova Athletic Director Says Kyle Neptune is Coming Back for a Third Season appeared first on Crossing Broad.

The Wildcats have to be questioning why they’re in the NIT for a second year in a row, while St. Joe’s is probably relishing the opportunity to keep playing after its run to the A-10 tournament semifinals.

Nova earned a No. 1 seed in the NIT, and the home-court advantage that comes with it, because of the new format that favors power-conference teams, and also because of a ton of opt-outs from its fellow power-six schools.

New Jersey online sports betting and Pennsylvania online sports betting will ramp up a little after noon on Thursday, with the full slate of NCAA tournament games. But if you’re itchy to play the locals tonight, The ‘Cats are a 7-point favorite against VCU and the Hawk’s are a 7.5-point underdog at Seton Hall.

For what it’s worth, underdogs won outright in five of the nine NIT games on Tuesday night and the Big East went 0-3.

VCU at Villanova (-7) (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

If you haven’t watched VCU in a decade, the same principles apply.

The Rams, even though they are on their third head coach since Shaka Smart, play at a slower pace and make life hell for opponents with their defense.

VCU holds a 15-20 record to the over and the under hit in four of the last five games. The Rams are also 6-4 against the spread as an underdog.

Villanova is 6-6 ATS as a favorite of seven or more points, but it’s worth noting that four of those covers came against DePaul and Georgetown.

The ‘Cats are on a run of nine straight unders that dates back to mid-February. Even Wednesday’s over/under of 132.5 could go under. The losing team in all of Villanova’s games in February and March failed to reach 70 points.

It’s also worth noting that motivation, or lack thereof, is a huge factor in this game. Villanova had NCAA tournament aspirations and it turned in its share of disappointing performances in big spots all season.

St. Joe’s (+7.5) at Seton Hall (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

Motivation probably plays a role in Newark as well.

Seton Hall was close to making the NCAA tournament and an NIT game could be viewed as a major let down spot for the Pirates.

St. Joe’s could continue the momentum from its A-10 tournament run in which it won outright as an underdog twice.

The Hawks are 6-7 ATS as an underdog, but they’re 3-1 ATS as an underdog of five or more points. They covered against Kentucky, Villanova and VCU in that spot.

Seton Hall is 1-4 ATS in its last five contests and 4-5 ATS as a favorite of seven or more points this season.

Add up those stats and the abundance of upsets on Tuesday night and you have the perfect concoction for a potential St. Joe’s win. As of this writing, FanDuel had the Hawks at +255 on the money line and DraftKings listed them at +270.

The post A Look at the NIT Opener Odds for St. Joe’s and Villanova appeared first on Crossing Broad.

#NovaNation – Cheer on the ‘Cats this Wednesday vs. VCU & enjoy a special $2 @NITMBB concessions offer

Get your tickets today: https://t.co/6WyOkxHPZI #GoNova pic.twitter.com/n4UsxEvi8I

— Villanova MBB (@NovaMBB) March 18, 2024

Question: Was a dollar dog too rich for Nova’s blood? Is the AD going to have to move out of his $1.5 million house for a $1.2 million shack if they slash the price of a hot dog in half? Pockets must be tight on the Main Line these days when you’re paying a team $3 million to go .500 in the Big East.

But you know what? I’ll actually praise Nova for the decision. Get rid of the wine and cheese crowd and make it $2 beer night every home game next season. The best Big East teams are the ones with the drunkest fans. Look at the final four of the Big East tournament. Marquette are a bunch of Miller Lite swigging cheeseheads, Connecticut and St. Johns fans almost came to blows in the semis, and Providence fans are just drunk all the time:

@kylepagancb

Providence should’ve made the dance just for Walt #providence #providencebasketball #bigeast #bigeastbasketball #bigeasttournament #marquette #villanova #creighton #ncaabasketball #madisonsquaregarden

♬ original sound – Kyle Pagan

Then there is Villanova fans cutting their pizzas with a fork and drinking $18 chardonnay behind the bench golf clapping when the team scores and then going back to their conversation shitting on some person from the club who could only afford a brand new A Class Mercedes.

You want to get back to the top, Nova? Do $2 beer night. It’s worked so far for UCONN:

$2 beer night, Donovan Clingan and the whole crowd singing Taylor Swift… UConn having a night pic.twitter.com/kuLynCohLF

— Talkin’ Knicks (@TalkinKnicks) January 18, 2024

Crime scene pic.twitter.com/NVcOlVvdlT

— I Have a UConn Basketball Problem (@ClimbingHuskies) January 18, 2024

The drunker the fanbase, the tougher it is to play there. I hope the students show out for this game and it sets the tone for next year. I really do. It’s more fun to root for Nova’s demise when it counts. It gets old after a while when you’ve seen it happen 32 times in the last two years.

The post Villanova is Slinging $2 Beers in an Effort to Get Fans in the Door for their NIT Game appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Walt is a legend! The nicest and most craziest Providence fan I’ve ever met.

The drinks!

I had heard stories about how crazy Providence fans are. I saw they stepped over their own to get a good seat just to motherfuck Ed Cooley, but even I wasn’t prepared for Walt. Sports can be dumb, but they can also be amazing. There’s something about fate that we were going to film a Big East Tournament vlog and our tickets happened to be next to one of the biggest Providence fans in the world who came to the game by himself. An old guy calling 20-year-old kids scumbags just because he’s playing against his team is what makes sports amazing. Providence might be my new Big East team until they let Temple in.

The Garden was awesome! It’s amazing how it’s held up after 50+ years. The Big East tournament is even better. It’s so funny that the wine and cheese crowd on the Main Line mixes in with a bunch of drunk cheese and chowderheads. Enjoy the unemployment line Kyle Neptune!

The post I Went to Villanova’s Funeral and it was Awesome! appeared first on Crossing Broad.

pic.twitter.com/F10OIj99N8

— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) March 14, 2024

Finally, our long national nightmare is over! I’ve only been preaching about it for the last month! Villanova has no business being in the NCAA Tournament and that was even before almost losing to 24-point underdog DePaul, who hasn’t won a Big East game in over a year! A year! The DePaul interim head coach spun circles around Kyle Neptune.

Wednesday night felt like a #16 vs. #1 seed. Everyone in the Garden was a Blue Demon. The Big East Tournament used to be Main Line North and now the entire place erupts for DePaul. The Villanova program might never recover from the Neptune Dynasty:

There IS a DePaul chant!!! pic.twitter.com/63Dy9cVTSj

— Alison (@onlythrowbacks) March 14, 2024

Even the nerds are sick of Villanova’s shit:

Villanova dropped from 33 to 40 in the NET and from 29 to 35 in KenPom after last night’s win over DePaul. Wildcats’ metrics were one of the big selling points for their resume and if their start to lose their luster … A win today over Marquette likely not enough on its own.

— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) March 14, 2024

I didn’t need every formula under the sun to know this team didn’t have it. I subscribe to the eye test. Kyle Neptune’s Super Bowl was last Saturday and they went down 32-8 immediately. If it wasn’t for all of the Big East Fluffers this team’s bubble would’ve burst back in February. I mean dams carry more water than the Big East Fluffers:

.@John_Fanta: “I think the Wildcats could be a dark horse in this tournament. And if we saw UConn and Nova on a Saturday night in MSG, don’t be surprised.”

Jim Calhoun: “I would be.”

pic.twitter.com/ZhVIBGsaMN

— Kyle Constable (@KyleConstable) March 14, 2024

The best part about all of this is that Nova winning secured Kyle Neptune another year. I don’t think Nova fans would allow him survive a loss to DePaul. But thanks to Justin Moore he’s coming back for another season on the Main Line. Play the fight song!

It’s a beautiful day for a funeral! I can’t wait to see my Villanova brethren!

I will be in the Garden tonight for Villanova’s funeral. Enough is enough. pic.twitter.com/iTL7qGbTtq

— Kyle Pagan (@CBKylePagan) March 14, 2024

The bottle is on ice pic.twitter.com/N8wsmc2mOX

— Kyle Pagan (@CBKylePagan) March 14, 2024

P.S. I realize I’m a hater. I’m Silky Johnson. Saying Temple is a rival of Nova is like saying the Jets are the Patriots’ rivals. But I would have nothing to root for if I wasn’t a hater. My college teams have sucked for close to a decade now. This is how I enjoy college sports. Rooting against Penn State in the fall and Villanova in the winter gets me by. It’s a rush. More people should find things they hate and actively root against them.

The post Joe Lunardi with the Death Knell for Villanova’s Tournament Hopes appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Sure, the ‘Cats survived and advanced thanks to a Justin Moore game-winning three-pointer against DePaul, but why should there be any trust in them after last night’s stinker?

In a befuddling twist, Marquette is only a 3.5-point favorite for Thursday’s Big East tournament quarterfinal.

I get it. Marquette won’t have point guard Tyler Kolek available, but the Golden Eagles are still the third-best team in the Big East and Shaka Smart holds a large advantage in the coaching matchup against Kyle Neptune.

Marquette beat Villanova twice in the regular season by scores of 87-74 and 85-80. The second game is vital to any handicap of Thursday’s quarterfinal.

Marquette went into the Pavilion with six healthy rotation players and won on January 30th. Kam Jones, who scored 30 points against Xavier on Saturday in Kolek’s absence, did not play in that contest.

Jones and Oso Ighodaro combined for 54 of Marquette’s 86 points on Saturday. Kolek is more distributor than scorer, so if the Golden Eagles get the ball to those two players, they should score with relative ease.

Scoring was one of Villanova’s many problems on Wednesday night against DePaul. The ‘Cats shot 11-for-35 from three-point range and only got to the free-throw line on six occasions. Villanova ranks first in Division I in free-throw shooting.

With a full college basketball slate at NJ sportsbooks and PA sportsbooks, the side on this over/under really comes down to which team you think will win. Villanova is on an eight-game unders streak and is 10-1 to the under in the last 11 games. Marquette is 4-2 to the over in its last six games despite a 13-18 mark to the over this season.

Both teams have winning records against the spread. Marquette is 18-12-1, while Nova is 17-15. Nova is 5-6 ATS as an underdog, but it failed to cover as a 6.5-point dog against the Golden Eagles on January 15th.

All of those numbers are nice, but also the eye test is a real factor here. Villanova hasn’t looked good in three of its last four halves of basketball. That’s far from ideal for a team squarely on the NCAA tournament bubble.

The post How is Villanova Only a 3.5 Point Underdog Against Marquette? appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Kyle Neptune’s team will cruise into the quarterfinals with a win over DePaul on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. The ‘Cats are a 23.5-point favorite.

If you care to bet it, Villanova covered as a favorite of 19.5 points and 10.5 points against DePaul this season. They won those games by 25 and 36 points. DePaul is 3-4 against the spread in its seven games as a 20-plus-point dog.

But the bigger picture is what matters for Villanova over the next couple of days in New York.

News broke on Wednesday morning that Marquette starting point guard Tyler Kolek is out for Thursday’s quarterfinal, where the Golden Eagles would play Villanova.

Marquette lost to UConn and beat Xavier by six points without Kolek last week. They’re probably playing the safe game with the point guard and making sure he’s close to 100 percent for the NCAA tournament.

Does that result in any longer term value for this heightened week of PA sports betting or NJ sports betting? Villanova is now +1600 at both FanDuel and DraftKings to win the Big East tournament. It’s still a bit of a reach for the ‘Cats to win the whole damn thing because UConn still exists, but they can at least confirm their spot in the NCAA tournament with two wins. DraftKings lists Villanova at -105 to make the field of 68.

A third win in New York, likely over Creighton, might even be needed if a few more bid stealers emerge. Indiana State dropped to the bubble on Sunday after Drake won the Missouri Valley tournament.

Temple, La Salle and St. Joe’s, are also in action on Wednesday. St. Joe’s drew the ungodly early 11:30 a.m. ET tip off in the A-10 tournament. The Hawks closed as a slight underdog against George Mason.

La Salle barely survived its first-round matchup on Tuesday against George Washington, but survive and advance, right?

The Explorers are a 6.5-point underdog against St. Bonaventure on Wednesday, and while the Bonnies might seem like a lock based on the spread, the Explorers might be the play.

La Salle beat St. Bonaventure by 13 points on February 21st and the Bonnies finished the regular season with losses to GW and Saint Louis, who both finished in the bottom six of the A-10 standings.

As for Temple, it’s playing UTSA for what feels like the fifth time this season. The Owls beat the Roadrunners twice in the last month, including in Sunday’s regular-season finale.

Despite those results, the Owls are a two-point underdog for their AAC tournament opener in Fort Worth. You should feel most confident about the over 150.5. Both UTSA-Temple games hit the 160-point mark.

The post Breaking Down the Odds on Villanova, Temple, La Salle in Wednesday’s Conference Tournament Games appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Penn did not qualify for the four-team Ivy League tournament and Drexel shit the bed as a No. 2 seed in the CAA quarterfinals on Sunday.

None of the remaining teams, Villanova, St. Joe’s, La Salle and Temple, are a top-four seed in their respective conference tournaments. They’ll have to win at least four games to earn an automatic bid.

If you’re scanning the odds and looking for value on your Pennsylvania sports betting apps and NJ sports betting apps, that means each member of the quartet is a long shot to win their respective conference tournaments.

Atlantic 10 

• St. Joe’s: +1800 (FanDuel) +2500 (DraftKings)
• La Salle: +25000 (FD), +35000 (DK)

La Salle needs to win five games in five days to earn the Atlantic 10’s automatic berth. The Explorers haven’t won more than two games at the A-10 tournament in more than a decade. The good news? La Salle went 4-2 in its last six games and beat No. 7 seed St. Bonaventure during that stretch. The Bonnies await the Explorers if they beat George Washington on Tuesday. The bad news? La Salle is 1-4 with four double-digit losses to the top four teams in the A-10

St. Joe’s has not won multiple games in a row since January 31 and February 3. The Hawks’ longest winning streak in conference play was three games. The Hawks could beat George Mason in the 8-9 game, but they’ll probably be close to a double-digit underdog against top seed Richmond.

American

• Temple (+50000, DK)

Temple hasn’t won more than three games in a row this season. The Owls need to win five in a row in Fort Worth to win the American tournament.

By the way: what an awful conference tournament site. I get it, the AAC has four Texas-based teams, but find a more central location.

Anyway, Temple could beat UTSA in the first round, but it won’t have an extended stay in Fort Worth.

Big East

• Villanova: +1600 (DK) +2000 (FD)

Villanova is realistically the only Philly area team that can make the NCAA tournament.

The ‘Cats will beat DePaul, and probably by double digits, but more on that Wednesday when the spread comes out.

Villanova must beat Marquette on Thursday to feel okay about itself, but it probably needs to defeat Marquette and then Creighton on Friday to feel 100 percent safe about its chances. Kyle Neptune’s team can advance far because Marquette is dealing with some injury issues and they beat Creighton earlier in the season. And don’t forget the experience Eric Dixon and Justin Moore have. Both of those players need to have massive tournaments for Nova to go far at MSG.

That was a long-winded way to say it’s Villanova or bust for the area, and if not, hope you like the NIT!

The post Assessing the Chances of Philly’s College Basketball Teams Winning their Conference Tournaments appeared first on Crossing Broad.

It’s not over yet. But we’re getting closer. 

The Wildcat must have some dirty pictures of Joe Lunardi with the St. Joe’s Hawk, because for some reason he’s scared to leave Nova out of the Big Dance. Here’s his latest Bracketology that still has Nova in his “Last Four In” after losing to Creighton over the weekend and finishing .500 in the Big East:

pic.twitter.com/AuWmOYNEro

— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) March 10, 2024

pic.twitter.com/eysU9VBR6S

— Kyle Pagan (@CBKylePagan) March 11, 2024

For the love of god please put us out of our misery. Leave the Villanova basketball team on the Main Line this March. Nobody wants to watch an #11 seed Nova play. Not even their fans. The Wells Fargo Center was 60% filled on Saturday at their Super Bowl.  They’re 17-14. They’re not winning the Big East. They’ll finish with 15 losses and only three teams ever have gotten an at-large bid with 15 losses.

Answer a question for me. Do you want to watch a 28-win darling like Indiana State and Cream Abdul Jabbar or 14-loss Nova with a $3 million roster who underwhelmed all season on a beautiful March Thursday? It’s a no-brainer:

@overtime

Robbie Avila dropped 35 last night #collegebasketball #indianastate #robbieavila (h/t kysportsradio/X, via kjpistons/X)

♬ Number 2 by Lil Tecca – Xeno! ✰

Every Nova fan wants to point to their impressive Battle 4 Atlantis title, but completely ignore their Big 5 Tournament collapse. They’re below .500 in combined Quad 1 & 2 wins. Five of their 17 wins have come against Quad 4 teams, they stink on the road, and their offense is zero fun to watch. Imagine watching five Tobias Harris’ backing their man from the three point line down to the post all game when the first look fails. The only good that can come out of Villanova making the tournament is Kyle Neptune deserving an extension. I can’t wait for Adam Fisher to be battling Neptune for recruits. Now I actually might be conflicted.

Shut up Pagan. Temple fucking blows. 

Suck my dick:

FABB CALLED GAME!!!!!!!!!#Team128 pic.twitter.com/fC2RQG3zTI

— Temple Men’s Basketball (@TUMBBHoops) March 10, 2024

The post If the College Basketball Media is too Scared to Leave Villanova Out of the Big Dance, I’ll Be Brave Enough to Say It appeared first on Crossing Broad.

The sad reality is that unless one of the other Big Five members wins a conference tournament, Villanova is the only hope to represent the area in the Big Dance.

Temple just won its second game in the American Athletic Conference on Sunday, St. Joe’s and La Salle are a combined 9-17 in the A-10, and Penn is on an eight-game Ivy League losing streak. Drexel is 10-4 in the CAA, but all four of its league losses have come away from the Daskalakis Athletic Center. You have to win on the road, or at least at a neutral venue, to get into the tournament. Drexel needs to win the conference tournament anyway because the CAA is a one-bid league.

Villanova resides in its current position because it hasn’t beaten any good teams since its upset of Creighton on December 20th.

Villanova built up a great nonconference resume with three victories at the Battle 4 Atlantis, but those wins look less great now because Texas Tech is an average Big 12 team and Memphis is in a free fall. The win over North Carolina is the only truly great win outside of the Big East.

So basically, Villanova is left playing in de-facto elimination games from here on out in the Big East.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi put the Wildcats on the “Next Four Out” line in his Monday bracketology update. Butler comes into the Pavilion on the “Last Four In” line.

Villanova already won two head-to-head bubble battles with Providence and Seton Hall in February. The Friars and Pirates are still ahead of the ‘Cats on Lunardi’s projection, but there’s one head-to-head matchup left with both Providence (March 2) and Seton Hall (March 6) left for Villanova.

If you’re looking at this game on PA sportsbooks, some things to know:

Right now, Villanova is winning its games with defense. It earned its last three wins by holding teams under 55 points.

The over/under is stunningly set at 140.5 points for Tuesday night. Villanova is a six-point favorite.

Villanova is 14-11 to the under this season and four of their last five games have gone under. Butler isn’t exactly painting offensive masterpieces either. The Bulldogs hit the under three times and pushed on the total in their last four games.

Villanova is certainly worth the plus-money price to get into the NCAA tournament because of its upcoming schedule, but if you’re into single-game betting more, just take the under because neither team has a fantastic offense.

The post Sad Reality: Villanova, at Plus Odds, is the Philadelphia Area’s Only NCAA Tournament Hopeful appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Villanova had 18 seconds on their final possession & failed to even get a shot off.

Don’t see this often.
Credit Xavier for locking-in on defense.

Musketeers grind-out a tough win 56-53.@WCPO pic.twitter.com/ohabydGZIA

— Caleb Noe (@CalebNoeTV) February 8, 2024

At least Nova fans will always have that Battle 4 Atlantis banner!

These guys look so lost on offense. They work their asses off on defense, come down to the other side of the court, and look like they have no idea what play is called. This last 18 seconds might not even be the worst offensive possession they had Wednesday night. It’s embarrassing to come out of a timeout and not even get a shot off. They even had another timeout. Why didn’t Neptune call one with six seconds left when Brendan Hausen is in no mans land and picked his dribble up? –

Then it looked like Neptune dodged the postgame press conference:

Kyle Neptune issued a 15-second statement immediately after the game as reporters attempted to get downstairs, so no questions as to why Villanova executed one of the most abominable end to games you’ll ever see. Credit X. Great D in 56-53 win over Nova.

— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) February 8, 2024

And then had to come back out:

So a quick follow-up… Much, much respect to Kyle Neptune. Took time to return to media workroom and answer questions concerning the end of the game. Thanks also to longtime SID Mike Sheridan, class move to bring coach back in. https://t.co/676bGeq63T

— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) February 8, 2024

Apparently Nova is quick to the press conference after games? I just can’t believe there would be a statement and not one reporter would ask what the hell happened in that last sequence. Why is the Xavier guy the one asking the question? There’s a couple reporters from the area who cover college hoops, some there and some that heard info secondhand, defending Nova’s press conference as a nothing-burger. Shocking.

Nova fans shouldn’t worry though, the Cats will still be in the tournament. It’s nuts. They’re 12-11 and Joe Lunardi LOVES them! People are saying if they win one Big East tournament game they’ll be in. Am I taking crazy pills? This team STINKS! They didn’t win one Big 5 game. ONE! They spent $3 million on them! Jay Wright ain’t walking through that door. Are we basing at large bids on legacy now?

P.S. Does handpicking Kyle Neptune take away from Jay’s legacy? I’m just asking the questions everyone is to scared to.

The post Villanova had 18 Seconds and Couldn’t Get a Shot Off appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Is this really how Nova Nation feels about ⁦@NovaMBB⁩ ? pic.twitter.com/njgCNyezyL

— Dan Gelston (@APgelston) January 31, 2024

I actually don’t want to bring any more light to this subject, so I’m keep this piece short, because the more people don’t realize how bad the Villanova program is, the more likely Kyle Neptune keeps his job. We can hide the problems out there on the Main Line. If this was a Philly school that paid $4 million for their team that currently sits at 11-10, this would be a major story. There would be accusations of fraud and pyramid schemes running rampant because there is no way some guys on this team who are making more than a Sixer on a two-way contract should be hovering around .500. Neptune was handed a Lambo and he took a turn too wide on Lancaster Ave and flipped the damn thing.

The boos are pumping up opposing players and the AD looks like he took Jay Wright for granted:

Tyler Kolek, on Kyle Neptune:

“They come out, they announced Kyle Neptune and all their fans were booing. We looked at each other, like ‘These fans lost confidence in him? Let’s go at ’em. Let’s take their confidence.’ That adds something to us.”

— Colin Beazley (@colin_beazley) January 31, 2024

Villanova’s AD in the Q-Zip top left. Go Johnnies #SJUBB pic.twitter.com/J1USzDtt1r

— 𝕋𝔸 (@TDA3397) January 25, 2024

Tough times out on the Main Line. We all weep for you in the Big 5.

The post Villanova Fans Have Turned on Kyle Neptune appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Yes, that’s the same Marquette team that just beat Villanova by 13 points on January 15th and the same Villanova team that blew a double-digit halftime lead and fell to Butler on Saturday.

Villanova is currently a 1.5-point favorite at PA sportsbooks and NJ online sports betting, and they’re the topic of a popular trend.

College sports bettors love to think something is up when an unranked team, in this case Villanova, is a favorite against a ranked foe, and the immediate thought is that something is fishy. Is the line telling us something?

Well, unranked home teams are just 11-11 against the spread this season versus ranked away teams, per betting analyst Jared Smith:

Updating this since we have 2 unranked home favorites playing tonight…

Nova -1.5 vs #9 Marq
K St -2.5 vs #23 Okla

Full disclosure the trend has NOT been profitable so far this season hitting at only 50% per @Bet_Labs https://t.co/fg2j332yHe pic.twitter.com/lhHfKme9uS

— Jared Smith (@jaredleesmith) January 30, 2024

However, this is also a Villanova team that is 3-1 ATS against Top 25 opposition. The last cover was on a last-second half-court heave that cut the losing margin against UConn from four points to one.

The Wildcats also covered in their wins over North Carolina and Creighton, both of which were earned in overtime.

Speaking of overtime, Villanova played in four overtime games this season. Tuesday’s game is +1100 to go to overtime if you want to use pizza money on that.

Anyway, back to the actual analysis, the Wildcats are 2-2 ATS in Big East play as a favorite and 7-7 ATS as a favorite this season. It’s important to note that both of the Big East covers as a favorite came against DePaul, who is the worst team among the six power conferences.

Marquette has only been an underdog on four occasions this season and they covered and won outright in three of those games. The Golden Eagles beat Illinois and Kansas outright in November and defeated St. John’s on January 20th as their only time as an underdog in Big East play so far.

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If you rely on trends to make your bet, a lot of the numbers cancel each other out, so then it comes down to picking the better team, which Marquette is.

That said, Villanova is in a back-against-the-wall situation and another top-10 win would resurrect its season and put it back on the right side of the NCAA tournament bubble.

So yeah, you can work your brain into a tightly-wrapped pretzel trying to figure out which side to take.

The post Make it Make Sense: Villanova, on Four-Game Losing Streak, is a Home Favorite Against a Top 10 Team appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Hearing a rumor one of the greatest traditions in sports is coming back tomorrow pic.twitter.com/ddVxbdghT6

— Kyle Pagan (@CBKylePagan) December 1, 2023

Bring out the streamers!! Drexel celebrates their first made basket as an official member of the Big 5 as anyone would, throwing streamers on the floor, as is tradition in Philadelphia. pic.twitter.com/Zf7jsEUVNQ

— Big 5 Pod (@Big5Pod) November 15, 2023

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’m talking about streamers baby!

After each team’s first basket during the game, streamers in that team’s colors are thrown from the student section. The tradition was carried for decades before the NCAA cracked down on it, because people started to throw more than just streamers on the court. Going forward, any fans who threw streamers during a Big 5 game would be assessed a technical foul. In 2014, streamers were brought back for one game thanks to Temple and La Salle:

Streamers at The Palestra today for Temple-La Salle. pic.twitter.com/To4KdCi7SO

— Dan McQuade (@dhm) December 6, 2014

Both teams were assessed a technical and each team had their player intentionally step over the foul line, which waved off the basket.

This is going to be sick to watch in person! If you got some kids and you want them to learn about the history of the Big 5, come out tomorrow. Three games for one ticket ($45). Streamers, roll outs, and I’m hearing Temple is bringing back the tradition of dressing in black for the Hawks’ funeral:

We’re having a funeral for a bird. Do attend:

The post There’s a Rumor that One of the Best Traditions in Sports is Coming Back for the Big 5 Classic appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Nova lost to both Penn and St. Joe’s in pod play, so they open against Drexel at 2 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Center. It’s La Salle and Penn in consolation game 1, then Temple/SJU for the title.

Jay Wright is enjoying retirement and won’t be coaching in the tripleheader, but he’s a proponent of the event and excited for it.

“I love this,” he said on Monday’s episode of Crossing Broadcast. “It’s something we’ve been talking about for years, and to finally put this together, I think Dan Hilferty was a big part of this, and to have Comcast-Spectacor behind this is really good for the city of Philadelphia and good for the teams. It’s hard for traditional Big 5 fans to understand, that as college basketball changed, and TV contracts changed, it’s so difficult to schedule these games. As much fun as the games are, it can actually affect your next game sometimes, or your previous games. It was actually sometimes hurting Big 5 teams, where you had to put this game in on Sunday, you’ve got a league game on Monday, but it’s a Big 5 game and you’re emotionally invested, then you come to your first league game and you’re not ready. That’s a little bit of an exaggeration, but it did happen sometimes.”

Wright noted that Big 5 games would get lost in the scheduling process, diminishing the significance and awareness of local competition.

“I know we would sometimes play Temple in February,” he continued. “Because it was Temple’s home game and ESPN had the rights, and they would dictate that’s where they wanted the game, which was great to get it on ESPN, but Temple would be playing Houston right before us, we’d be playing Connecticut, it would be crazy. And then, you didn’t know who the Big 5 champion was, because you never knew when it ended or when it started. We always wanted this to be a positive for the teams and a positive for Philadelphia basketball. Now, you’re gonna know who the Big 5 champion is. It would end sometimes and no one even knew that the Big 5 season ended. You’re gonna know who the champion is. You’re going to get to see everybody. And as we build this thing, everybody in the Big 5 should make money off this tournament for their programs. In the past, everybody lost money on Big 5 games, because the schools all invested in these games but lost money.”

When we had Fran Dunphy on the show a few weeks ago, the veteran Philly native and coach spoke about the idea of Philadelphia providing so many sports and entertainment options in 2023. There are four pro teams in the city limits, the Union in Chester, concerts, restaurants, and events, but the figurative attention pie doesn’t expand. It remains finite.

Wright is keen to that idea of oversaturation, and the thought that the Big 5 needed to evolve and find a new way to carve out a city niche.

“This where I applaud Dan Hilferty, because he has started to build this and promote this,” Wright said. “There used to be a director of the Big 5. That was back in the day, when you had doubleheaders at The Palestra, and teams were making money, and it was a good business venture, too. But now there is no organization of the Big 5, it’s just the athletic directors or the schools. We could keep building this thing, where you’ve got a TV contract, where teams are making money, they share the revenue, or we add Coaches vs. Cancer to this, where we benefit cancer research in the city – and really make this thing a big event. To Fran’s point, you’d have a Big 5 game, let’s say Temple/Villanova, the winner of that game is Big 5 champion, and the game was in February, and the Sixers had a game, and Flyers had a game, and St. Joe’s was playing Dayton for first place in the Atlantic 10, and no one even knew (about the Big 5 title). If this is the same weekend, and we know when it is, people know that’s what they do on that weekend, over time I think it could really become a great event in Philadelphia.”

Tickets are available at the WFC/Big 5 Classic website. $45 for the entire day, so you get to see all three games.

Here’s the full interview with Jay:

The post Jay Wright a Proponent of New Big Five Classic – “It’s Something We’ve Been Talking About for Years” appeared first on Crossing Broad.

St. Joes beat Villanova by double digits and Hawks fans beelined it for “Wright Way”.

The road dedicated to Jay Wright before the game

(via @king_cubit) pic.twitter.com/h1rfMPrFQ0

— Crossing Broad (@CrossingBroad) November 30, 2023

This right here is the type of shit that the Big 5 needs. Rivalries, hatred, streamers, roll outs, upsets, and more. Nova was a 12 point favorite last night at home and the Hawks came in and beat them by double digits.

For the Big 5 to work, it needs to be competitive year in and year out. It needs the fans to buy in. I love that the first thing these students immediately did after beating Nova for the first time in 11 years was going to Wright Way and flashing V’s down. They haven’t had a moment to celebrate against Nova since Halil Kanacevic flipped off the Cats student section:

That’s the Holy War. Great games and great fanbases with no love lost.

It wouldn’t hurt to keep a couple guys home either who understand the history. Just last night we had Zion Stanford (West Catholic), Hysier Miller (Neumann Goretti), Lynn Greer III (Roman), Jahmir Brickus (Coatesville), Eric Dixon (Abington), Jordan Longino (GA), Hakim Hart (Roman), Xzayvier Brown (Roman), Anthony Finkley (Roman) all play significant minutes during their games. That’s amazing! They might’ve not grown up in the heyday of the Big 5, but they definitely remember attending games or watching on TV.

The intensity last night at the Temple/La Salle game was awesome! Back and forth back and forth. It took three overtimes to decide who was playing in the championship on Saturday:

DOUBLE OT! THEY SAID THE BIG 5 WAS DEAD! pic.twitter.com/aUkvrgB9PR

— Kyle Pagan (@CBKylePagan) November 30, 2023

Big 5 basketball. It just means more.

Temple is going to win the first Big 5 Classic Saturday pic.twitter.com/HCptX3nAVF

— Kyle Pagan (@CBKylePagan) November 30, 2023

It was one of the best games I’ve ever been to and both teams treated the game like it meant a lot more than just another Big 5 matchup. Temple grinded out a win after five players fouled out. Brickus set a Big 5 record with 41 points. We even had one of the greatest stat lines I’ve ever seen:

What a stat line pic.twitter.com/EXwAfOcP7W

— Kyle Pagan (@CBKylePagan) November 30, 2023

That’s Big 5 basketball!

Sure the Wells Fargo Center wanted Nova in the Big 5 Classic championship so they could sell the most tickets (on sale now). But do these two teams in the championship not scream Big 5? Two teams led by guards from Philly, undersized, and underdogs. It’s the perfect matchup for the first championship under the new Big 5 format.

The post St. Joe’s Beat Double-Digit Favorite Villanova and Fans Beelined it for Jay Wright’s New Road appeared first on Crossing Broad.

He did walk away on top, a few years after Villanova’s second national title in three seasons, and he’s not that old, just 61 right now.

We had him on Crossing Broadcast Monday to talk about a variety of topics, including Saturday’s first-ever Big 5 tripleheader at the Wells Fargo Center, and positioned the coaching question a bit differently:

Could @CoachJayWright return to coaching?

Never say never. pic.twitter.com/h8cdC43Q3m

— Crossing Broad (@CrossingBroad) November 28, 2023

Expanded answer:

Jay: I’ve never retired before (laughs), so I know enough to know that things change in life. But honestly, right now, I enjoy not coaching. I don’t miss it. I love going to watch games. I love being able to go to Eagles games, go to Phillies games, watch the games. I watched the Eagles game (against the Bills), I would have a laptop watching game film as I watched (an Eagles game), and then when the game’s over I’d be ready for practice the next day. I’d be using things that happened in the Eagles game to share with my team the next day, that could help us. And then you’d realize a little bit later, my assistants would tell me, ‘you know most of these guys aren’t from Philly, they hate the Eagles.’ 

Pagan: They all think the tush push should be banned.

Jay: Yeah (laughing), but then I think ‘it’s such a great example man, they gotta buy into this.’ But I’m really enjoying doing all of the other things that, when I was coaching, I was so obsessed and 100% in, that I really didn’t get to enjoy the other things in life. Like this Thanksgiving was the first time I was home for the whole Thanksgiving. What a great holiday man, watching games. Never did that before.

Kinkead:  Yeah welcome in, this is what Thanksgiving is actually like.

Jay: Yeah, so I don’t really see anything (missing), but maybe in two years I get bored, I’m really not bored now and enjoying this. 

Appreciate Jay’s honesty on the topic. And think about it – he coached for how many years in a row? He hasn’t had a normal Thanksgiving in decades. That’s incredible. Now he has the opportunity to gorge on turkey and pass out on the sectional like the rest of us normal fat asses. Here’s the full interview:

The post “I Enjoy Not Coaching,” Says Jay Wright, Who is Doing All of the Things He Couldn’t Do Before appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Granted, the Barstool games took place on a Friday night, while the Big 5 games were on a Wednesday, but it was unfathomable to think that a Barstool event involving four non-local teams would outdraw local squads in their hometown.

That’s a snapshot of the current Big 5, which is fighting for relevancy in an oversaturated Philadelphia sports market. Understanding the need to do things differently in 2023, Drexel was added to the group as an official member, and a new tripleheader event was scheduled for December 2nd at the Wells Fargo Center. Dubbed the “Big Five Classic,” all six teams will play on the same day.

We had La Salle head coach Fran Dunphy on Wednesday’s episode of Crossing Broadcast, and asked him about the new approach.

“There’s been talk throughout the Big 5 schools over the last number of years, of how we can do this better,” Dunphy said. “I have a great admiration for Jay Wright in so many ways, and obviously he did a phenomenal job coaching at Villanova. What he accomplished was extraordinary. And he’s always been in favor of continuing the Big 5 as it’s been, because he felt it was important. I think we all felt that way, that we did not want this to die, and things go in cycles, you know? When I was a kid, you would have never thought about going away to college. There were so many great choices here in Philadelphia. That’s what we all did, however, time’s have changed, life is different. ESPN has changed everything we’ve done in college basketball. Every game we play is on ESPN+ at the minimum, and so is any other division 1 team. So you can see any games you want on TV. I think that diminishes the on-site (reasons) for why people go to games. It’s easy to watch it on TV. It’s that way.”

Dunphy was pragmatic in talking about the reality of the Philly sports climate in 2023.

“There are so many more things to do compared to when college basketball in Philadelphia was in it’s heyday,” he admitted. “There were a lot of people going to the Palestra, which is still one of the great nights, in my memories, I still like going to the Philadelphia Catholic League playoffs, just to sit there in the corner and watch two great games. But people are different these days. We have to figure out how to do this better, and this is our try to do it better. …I applaud those people within the Big 5 and the university administrators, to say ‘lets try something different and see what we can do.’

The tripleheader is the culmination of a new format in which the six teams are split into two groups for pod play. This year, La Salle is with Temple and Drexel, while Villanova, St. Joe’s, and Penn are in the other pod. Each team plays the other two on campus, then will be seeded for the tripleheader. The top seeds in each pod play for the championship, the second place teams play each other, and same with the third place teams.

“It’s a start,” said Dunphy of the format change. “Maybe we can make this thing a total event that everybody shares in. Not just the six schools, but the city itself is benefited by the uniqueness that we have in Philadelphia, where everybody does try to play everybody else. It doesn’t happen in D.C., or New York, or Chicago, or LA, or what have you.”

“It’s interesting what we do and what we have. Let’s celebrate it rather than letting it go by the wayside.”

Big 5 Classic tickets are $45 at big5classic.com. That’s $15 per game, with access to all three. Here’s our full interview with Fran:

The post Fran Dunphy Hopes New Big 5 Classic Can be a “Total Event that Everybody Shares in” appeared first on Crossing Broad.

PHILADELPHIA (August 15, 2023) – Tickets for the first-ever Big 5 Classic, which will be held at the completely transformed, built-for-basketball New Wells Fargo Center on December 2, are on sale now. Tickets for the tripleheader start at just $45 and are good for all three matchups. Group and premium ticket options are also available at big5classic.com.

…

Last April, the Big 5 officially welcomed Drexel University and revealed details of a new series format where the Big 5 champion will be determined during a same-day, Big 5 tripleheader in South Philadelphia.

Just last month, the Big 5 announced its new round-robin schedule which will determine the tripleheader matchups at Wells Fargo Center.

For the 2023-24 season, Pod 1 features Drexel, La Salle and Temple while Pod 2 features Penn, Saint Joseph’s and Villanova.

2023-24 Philadelphia Big 5 Men’s Basketball Schedule

(All game times TBA by host school)

• Monday, Nov. 6 – Drexel at La Salle
• Friday, Nov. 10 – Penn at Saint Joseph’s
• Monday, Nov. 13 – Villanova at Penn
• Tuesday, Nov. 14 – Temple at Drexel
• Wednesday, Nov. 29 – Saint Joseph’s at Villanova
• Wednesday, Nov. 29 – La Salle at Temple
• Saturday, Dec. 2 – Big 5 Classic Tripleheader at Wells Fargo Center

All teams will participate in the Big 5 Classic tripleheader with the first seed in each pod competing for the Big 5 championship, the second-place teams in each pod competing for third place, and the third seeds competing for fifth place.

Honestly, that’s a pretty good deal. Three games for $45? The pod format seems a little corny, vs. having all of the local teams play each other at least once, but they’ve got to try something different to inject some life into the Big 5. Last year they did the Barstool Invitational at the (New) Wells Fargo Center and it pulled more fans than the Palestra doubleheader. Mind you, the Barstool tournament featured the basketball powerhouses of UAB, Toledo, Akron, and Mississippi State, while the Big 5 back-to-back had La Salle, Temple, St. Joe’s, and Penn. Might have been better numbers if Villanova was there, but on no planet should a tournament featuring U-A-fucking-B outdraw the Big 5 in Philadelphia. Embarrassing!

But yeah, let’s give this format a try. You get three games at $15 apiece, and the Big 5 winner will be determined when the two #1 seeds play. It’s different. It’s unique. We are intrigued.

The post Big 5 Classic Tickets Seem Like a Pretty Good Deal appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Mikal Bridges and the Astros’ Chas McCormick played basketball against each other in high school (Great Valley vs. Henderson) and Bridges totally clamped up the future World Series champion:

Before Chas McCormick was a World Series champ, he was a multi-sport high school athlete… who had a special night ruined by a future NBA player. @chazzyfizzz @mikal_bridges pic.twitter.com/rJylOifZAR

— Vanessa Richardson (@SportsVanessa) July 31, 2023

Bridges quoted the video clip on Twitter, saying “Funny thing is i still tell this story to people til this day… coach told us in the lockerroom we are not lettin him get his 1000 point today lol.”

McCormick, who was a multi-sport athlete at Henderson, went on to play baseball at Millersville and was drafted by the @stros in 2017. We won’t talk about the 2022 World Series.

Bridges, of course, won it all with Nova and then the Sixers drafted him and traded him to the Suns for Zhaire Smith and a 1st round draft pick that went to LA in the Tobias Harris trade. We’ve relitigated that trade a bazillion jillion times. 

The post West Chester’s Chas McCormick Recalls Mikal Bridges Totally Locking Him Up in High School appeared first on Crossing Broad.

@pointforward

Donte DiVincenzo almost transferred from Villanova to Temple. A few months after deciding to stay, he was MOP of the Final Four, a National Champ, and a first round draft pick by the Milwaukee Bucks. Safe to say, he made the right call. #dontedivincenzo #villanovabasketball #marchmadness #nba #ncaa

♬ original sound – Point Forward podcast

My reaction:

Don’t get me wrong, that Temple team he would’ve joined the next year was good. They went 23-10 and made the tournament then lost in the First Four. Temple’s last NCAA Tournament appearance in fact. But they weren’t Villanova. They definitely weren’t the Villanova team he wanted to leave until Jay Wright told him he couldn’t.

Sidenote: Does the NCAA know Jay was keeping guys at Nova against their will? That’s borderline kidnapping if you ask me. No chance the statute of limitations have run out. Maybe the NCAA should investigate. Take away some scholarships. I don’t know I’m just spit balling.

Could you imagine though if DiVincenzo actually transferred? Great get for the Owls, but lets be honest, his life is completely flipped upside down on its head. No MOP, no National Championship, and no first round pick. That’s insane.

Or is it? Because the Girlfriend Transfer Portal Theory is up there with Newton’s Law of Physics and E=MC2. Who was Donte DiVincenzo dating in North Philly?

https://twitter.com/BarstoolU/status/1476964249541005322?s=20

The post Donte DiVincenzo Reveals He Almost Transferred to Temple appeared first on Crossing Broad.

PHILADELPHIA (April 11, 2023) – Today, the Big 5 officially welcomed Drexel University and revealed details of a new series format where the Big 5 champion will be determined during a same-day, Big 5 triple-header at the New Wells Fargo Center on Saturday, December 2, 2023. The announcement was made on the court at Wells Fargo Center which has been home to numerous NCAA Tournament games, and has featured all of the Big 5 teams in action during its more than 25-year history. 

For the new series, the six schools will be separated into three-team pods: Pod 1: Temple, La Salle, and Drexel; Pod 2: Villanova, St. Joseph’s, and Penn. Each team will play the other two teams from their pod at their individual on-campus arenas. All teams will participate in the Big 5 Classic triple-header at the New Wells Fargo Center on December 2 with the first seed in each pod competing for the Big 5 championship, the second place teams in each pod competing for second place, and the third seeds competing for third place in the Big 5.

…

The Big 5 Classic is the latest event hosted by Spectacor Events and Entertainment (SEE), which finds or builds exciting events for the city of Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center and beyond.  SEE spent the past 6 months working to bring the Big 5 Classic to the Wells Fargo Center and will promote the event of behalf of the schools. 

Thoughts? I have none because the Big 5/City 6 this past season had less juice than a desiccated orange.

When you look at how little interest/attendance there was for those Palestra games earlier this year, I think we were at least in agreement that the local hoops scene needed some kind of shot in the arm, really ANY kind of shot in the arm, so while doing two pods and playing a triple-header at the WFC may or may not the be the solution, it’s good to try SOMETHING different… right? We’ll see what Pagan and other local alums have to say about this. Not sure if the new pod format, which has Temple and Villanova on opposite sides, means the possibility of them not playing at all. We’ll see if they clear that up in the presser.

And honestly, no issue with Drexel being included permanently in this. It does feel goofy to have a “Big 5” with six teams, but that’s how shit works these days. The Big 12 only has 10 teams and the Big 10 has 14 teams, so there are examples of this all over the place at the college level.

Drexel “welcomed” into the Big 5 pic.twitter.com/JOa1kbEmsA

— Mike Jensen (@jensenoffcampus) April 11, 2023

The post Drexel Officially Becomes a Big Five Member, New Triple-Header/Pod Format Revealed appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Dallas Wings select Maddy Siegrist with the No. 3 pick in the WNBA draft

Averages at Villanova this season:

29.2 PPG
9.2 RPG
1.5 APG

She's the highest Villanova player drafted all-time pic.twitter.com/yT7PRHO0ap

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 10, 2023

Good for Siegrist, who was the best local collegiate player this season. Notice the use of the word “local” to avoid the “is Villanova a Philly school?” trap.

But yeah, she was a scoring machine this season. Fantastic player, easily the best story to come out of the Philly hoops scene since the men’s side really underwhelmed and not a single squad went to the NCAA Tournament. The Villanova women were a #4 seed and ripped off two wins before losing to Miami in the third round.

RE: the nugget in that tweet above, yes, Siegrist is the highest-drafted Villanova player of all time. Going back to triple check, the next five on the list are:

• Randy Foye: #7, 2006
• Tim Thomas: #7, 1997
• Kerry Kittles: #8, 1996
• Jim Washington: #6, 1965
• Paul Arizin #3, 1950*

I think there’s a technicality with the Arizin thing since the draft was totally different 73 years ago, so need a historian up in here to explain that to us.

Beyond those five, of course you’ve got Mikal Bridges at #10, and then Kyle Lowry, Donte DiVincenzo, and plenty of other recent 1st and 2nd rounders, but no one else in the top 10.

The post Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist Goes Third in WNBA Draft appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Here’s the full bracket, via CBS:

At least we don’t have to do the obligatory “is Villanova a Philly school?” column this year.

Final results for our local college basketball teams:

• Villanova: 17-16 (10-10 in Big East)
• Temple: 16-16 (10-8 in the American)
• Drexel: 17-15 (10-8 in Colonial)
• Penn: 17-13 (9-5 in Ivy)
• St. Joe’s: 16-17 (8-10 in Atlantic 10)
• La Salle:  15-19 (7-11 in Atlantic 10)

Penn had the best shot. They were 17-11 at one point, and 9-4 in the conference, but couldn’t beat Princeton this year. Nova lost to Creighton in the conference tournament and that was it for them. No miracle run from the other teams, either.

So yeah, 1977 was about 45 years ago. Star Wars was opening in movie theaters. Jimmy Carter had just taken office and Fleetwood Mac was releasing the Rumours album. It’s been some time since we had a March Madness donut like this one.

The troublesome thing is that this might not be a blip on the radar. Jay Wright is retired, and Nova was totally meh this year. The other five teams don’t stink, but they’re very average and hovering right around .500. Do you see one of Temple, Drexel, Penn, La Salle, or St. Joe’s taking a significant step forward next season? I don’t.

The post Officially Official: No Philadelphia Men’s Team in March Madness for First Time Since 1977 appeared first on Crossing Broad.

We’ve got Villanova in the Big East championship game, coming off a one-point semifinal win in which Maddy Siegrist went for 37 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists. Even if you don’t follow the women’s game in town, you have to be familiar with her or have seen her name in headlines. She’s in her fourth year now and has games this year of 50 points, 41 points, and 39 points. She’s the leading college scorer in the entire country, men’s or women’s basketball, and is averaging 29.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and only 1.4 turnovers in 35.2 minutes per game. She shoots 37.7% on 3.9 three point attempts per game, 52% from the floor, and is 84.9% from the foul line after 232 total attempts. She’s a walking bucket and can score from anywhere on the floor.

It’s gotten to the point where she’s forced herself into the upper echelon of basketball stats both local and national. Bob notes this:

Saturday night, Villanova's Maddy Siegrist became the all-time single-season points leader in Big 5+ men/women history . . .

Drexel's Keishana Washington is now 10th on that list — pic.twitter.com/uJimNcZAWT

— Bob Vetrone Jr. (@BoopStats) March 5, 2023

She also found herself on a graphic with Carmelo Anthony and Giannis:

Good company to keep @20sMaddy

cc: @novawbb pic.twitter.com/GdNByfsnm7

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 5, 2023

And she’s also Villanova’s all-time leading scorer, men’s or women’s side, surpassing guys like Scottie Reynolds and Kerry Kittles.

The funny thing is that Siegrist has another year of eligibility. This passage from M.A. Voepel at ESPN explains:

“Siegrist was projected as the No. 11 pick by the Dallas Wings in ESPN’s most recent WNBA mock draft. She said she will wait until after the season to decide if she will declare for the draft or return for a fifth season because of the COVID-19 waiver.”

If she does come back to a final year, she’ll push these records to a point where they’re unbreakable. Yeah, we’ll add the COVID asterisk, but still..

Siegrist is a great story, really flew under the radar because of the Eagles’ Super Bowl run, which obviously squashes everything to begin with. But she’s on fire and quite honestly has been all season long.

The post Maddy Siegrist is the Best Philly Sports Story, Right Now appeared first on Crossing Broad.

It’s depressing to realize no local men’s team is going to be dancing in March. That hasn’t happened- according to @BoopStats – since 1977

— Kevin Cooney (@KevinCooney) February 21, 2023

I mean, our best hope for a tourney team is Penn. PENN! I know they’ve won seven straight. I’d still rather no team from Philly make the Big Dance than have to watch the Quakers get their doors blown off by a #1 seed. They’ll get that Thursday mid-afternoon time slot against Houston that the bar you’re at doesn’t even waste a TV on. Nobody outside of 33rd through 37th street will even notice they played.

Philadelphia has a college basketball competition problem right now. Villanova was expected to compete in the Big East, even with the Justin Moore injury, due to the fact they had a lottery pick in Cam Whitmore. Kyle Neptune ended up being the best-dressed .500 coach in the nation. I know I had Temple, like a lot of alum wearing cherry-colored goggles, penciled in as a double digit seed before the season and now it looks like their best player might’ve been dismissed from the team. La Salle and St. Joes are La Salle and St. Joes. They haven’t sniffed the tournament since 2013 and 2016. Drexel is young, but playing tough in a stacked CAA.

It might happen again next year.

Every Villanova fan believes they’ll be back at the mountaintop, and how can you blame them after 20+ years of dominance? Only problem is Jay Wright ain’t walking through that door. He had the ability to make four and three-star recruits into NBA role players. Can Neptune do that? Whitmore is leaving for the draft and the only commit they have next year is a three-star small forward to pair with four-star guards Mark Armstrong, Jordan Longino, and Brendan Hausen. Justin Moore’s decision is up in the air and former four star Trey Patterson can’t get off the bench and could transfer. Temple has relied heavily on the transfer portal in the last couple of years and will need to again with Damian Dunn and Khalif Battle likely walking. I don’t know who is scoring next year for the Owls if their names aren’t Hysier Miller and Jamille Reynolds. Zach Hicks is streaky and Jahlil White is a black hole on the offensive end. McKie did actually recruit a kid from Philadelphia now twice in three years in All-Catholic first teamer Zion Stanford, so we have to give credit where credit is due. Little wins. Only problem is his job is in limbo. Did I mention La Salle and St. Joes are La Salle and St. Joes? Drexel has been to the tourney once since 1996. Only positive take away from this is maybe the Big 5 will be more competitive going forward. Too bad they changed the Big 5 format.

If you do want college basketball in March? Swarthmore is #15 in the nation right now in D3 hoops. Pack the kiddos in the car, head out to Good Delco, and get some of that sweet, sweet Centennial Conference basketball played below the rim.

EDIT: This article would lead you to believe Villanova is a Philly school. It is in fact not.

The post Philly Could Have Zero Men’s Teams in March Madness for the First Time Since 1977 appeared first on Crossing Broad.

• Eagles 1-2 (lost Super Bowls 39 and 57, won Super Bowl 52)
• Phillies 1-4 (lost 1983 World Series, lost 1993 World Series, won 2008 World Series, lost 2009 World Series, lost 2022 World Series)
• Flyers 0-4 (lost Stanley Cup Finals in 1985, 1987, 1997, and 2010)
• Sixers 0-1 (lost 2001 NBA Finals)
• Union 0-1 (lost 2022 MLS Cup)

So local pro teams have had 12 chances to win titles and have succeeded twice. If you want to extend it a bit further, the Union are also 0-3 in the U.S. Open Cup Final, so there were three more chances to win trophies and we ended up on the losing end instead. Even Smarty Jones choked. Couldn’t get it done.

We do have Wings and Soul championships, though one team went away twice before coming back and other eventually was folded. If you keep it to the “four majors” we’re 2-11 and if you add the Union as the 5th team we’re 2-12 or 2-15, depending on how you look at it. You can add the Villanova championships of course, and extend this to college sports, but the average Temple/St. Joe’s/La Salle/Penn/PSU alumnus likely does not celebrate those and wasn’t on Market Street for the parade.

Ultimately, we still kind of suck. Awesome time for Philly sports, but we’re 0-3 in trying to win it all over the last four months. The Phillies and Union were not favored in the World Series or MLS Cup, but the Phils blew a 2-1 series lead and the U were up late in the game. The Eagles had a 10-point halftime lead. Fuckin brutal.

The post Philadelphia is 2-12 in Championship Games or Series Since 1983 appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Jalen Brunson finding out he’s teammates with Josh Hart again

(h/t @Capj1344)

pic.twitter.com/3uKNeY31t8

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 9, 2023

A lot of movement from Villanova players last night. You’ve got Hart going to New York. Mikal Bridges was included in the Kevin Durant trade:

Breaking: The Phoenix Suns are nearing a blockbuster trade to acquire Kevin Durant, sources tell @wojespn.

The Suns are sending Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, four firt-round picks, a 2028 pick swap for Durant and TJ Warren. pic.twitter.com/QadcfPHNfw

— ESPN (@espn) February 9, 2023

And Arch was in the Hart deal:

The Knicks are sending Ryan Arcidiacono and Svi Mykhailiuk to the Blazers in the deal too, sources said.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 9, 2023

Is Kyle Lowry next?

Kyle Lowry didn’t show up to Miami’s game tonight (excused absence)

(Via @Anthony_Chiang ) pic.twitter.com/seC1qFzdF0

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 9, 2023

Who knows. Who cares. I’m a scorned Temple fan, so anything I write on here is going to read like sour grapes. Jalen Brunson should’ve been a Temple Owl. People don’t forget.

Go Birds:

“Most importantly, Go Birds” -Jalen Brunson pic.twitter.com/6XynWXAB0w

— Barstool Villanova (@BarstoolNova) February 9, 2023

The post Jalen Brunson Reacts to Josh Hart Becoming his NBA Teammate appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Wells Fargo Lot is now PASSES ONLY. Nova fans coming down without Eagles parking passes and told to turn around. HOT MESS. pic.twitter.com/G2DliqKVgj

— Bob Kelly (@BobKellyFOX29) January 29, 2023

Wells Fargo Lot a MESS. One guy in camper doesn’t have a parking pass. Nova fans trying to get in and eagles fans backed all the down 95. pic.twitter.com/dUBIRPi1Vx

— Bob Kelly (@BobKellyFOX29) January 29, 2023

Look at all this precious land at 9am! I can literally see the parking spot that Giants fan pissed his pants in last week.  If the Eagles lose because people weren’t properly liquored up I’m blaming it on Villanova.

You know who wouldn’t do this? A Philly team. You know how I know that? Last week the Philadelphia Wings moved their game up to 1pm on Saturday so it didn’t conflict with tailgates. Not only did they alleviate a headache for Eagles fans, their lots opened at 8:15 in the morning which allowed Eagles fans who purchased a Wings ticket to get in 12 hours of tailgating before game time.

Move the Nova game back to campus or have them play at the Palestra. They’re a .500 team playing Providence for god’s sake. Is it worth the bloodshed? –

Almost 3 fist fights in this traffic eagles fans screaming at each other lmao

— rob (@rreagles20) January 29, 2023

The post The Villanova Game is Causing A Clusterfuck For Eagles Tailgaters appeared first on Crossing Broad.

The Philly Six has found a solution to keep the Big 5 tradition alive. After months of conversations and searching for solutions to reinvent the deep-rooted city series, administrators and coaches have agreed to institute a new format, starting with the 2023-2024 season, a person involved in the planning told The Athletic. Here’s what you need to know:

Under the new format, the six schools — the traditional Big 5 teams of La Salle, Penn, Temple, Saint Joseph’s and Villanova, plus Drexel — will be split into two three-team pods.

The pod teams will play each other in November, with the winners matching up based on their record in a tripleheader (a designated fifth place, third place and championship game, if you will) at the Wells Fargo Center on the first Saturday in December.

I like where the Big 5 is headed, but I hate the new format. The addition of Drexel should be welcomed. They’ve strung together a couple strong seasons and made the tournament two years ago. But a round robin tripleheader is bogus. So you’re telling me I’m not guaranteed to play Villanova or St. Joes every year? If that’s the case make it a tournament and seed teams based on their Big 5/City 6 records the previous year. Give the first two overall seeds a bye to the second round and play it throughout the week. First round is Monday, second round is Wednesday, the championship game is Friday or Saturday. Bring back the streamers. Have basketball alumni compete in some sort of Shooting Stars contest like they do on All Star Weekend. Who wouldn’t want to see Ryan Archidiacono vs. Jameer Nelson vs. Pepe Sanchez vs. Malik Rose vs. Lionel Simmons vs. that white shooter from the 1996 Quakers basketball squad? Get someone who can work the fucking camera too:

https://twitter.com/kylepaganCB/status/1598115667211079681?s=20&t=XdemQBvgn6ZrnNpowE5Chw

I feel like the Big 5 got spooked because they overreacted to nobody going to the doubleheader on a Wednesday in November. Even though both schools involved provided zero transportation and gave away zero tickets. So what did they decide to do? Put the championship game in the Wells Fargo Center. No Big 5 game should be in the Wells Fargo Center. Ever. This was a Temple vs. LaSalle game at the Palestra when College Gameday came in 2014:

https://twitter.com/CBroadBurner/status/1619093064085291013?s=20&t=iOnFV1yoioqO2GRk1i3Pfg

This was the Temple vs. Villanova game this year:

https://twitter.com/kylepaganCB/status/1591256473870409730?s=20&t=vFopmUNe7LAt4kSXbHDCIA

You can’t tell me we can’t get back to that. Even with the new format.

Now does the Big 5 have bigger problems? Of course. Lack of competition and local talent being one of them. All you have to do is look at the Imhotep Charter vs. Camden High game tomorrow. If it wasn’t for the Eagles it’d be the hottest ticket in town:

Anyone selling tickets for Imhotep-Camden at St. Joe's on Saturday?

— Jake Pavorsky (@JakePavorsky) January 25, 2023

I need a Ticket for that Imhotep vs Camden game man somebody know who selling them?

— Juice Murray (@EST___1991) January 13, 2023

Who’s selling tickets for Imhotep/Camden this Saturday????

— Mathew (@mathewr_2) January 26, 2023

Why? Two of the best players in the nation, DJ Wagner and Justin Edwards, are going head to head. Where are both of them going? Kentucky. We’ll never get back to the heyday of the Big 5 until the schools around here other than Villanova start becoming more competitive and keeping kids home. While we wait for that to happen the Big 5 should get it’s format right for longterm success.

The post Friday News Dump: They Killed the Big 5 Tradition appeared first on Crossing Broad.

.@VUCoachJWright joins @NovaMBB head coach Kyle Neptune to discuss the Wildcats' game against Oklahoma and to preview VU's matchup with Penn tonight. pic.twitter.com/CN2ArxLQTt

— CBS Sports College Basketball (@CBSSportsCBB) December 7, 2022

We gotta get through to CBS. Let Jay wear the full suits. He was the best-dressed college coach in the country.

But yeah, this is funky. Handpicked coach now being interviewed by former legendary coach. This would be like Coach K holding a FS1 mic and asking Jon Scheyer about the 1-3-1 zone. Jay Wright recruited all these dudes anyway, he knows the team better than Kyle Neptune does. He should have asked why his Cats are 4-5 and lost to a 6-4 Temple team.

“Hey coach! What have you done with my team? You were the chosen one!” 

Something like that. Like Obi-Wan interviewing Anakin Skywalker.

The post Jay Wright Interviewing Kyle Neptune for CBS is Weird appeared first on Crossing Broad.

People say pro sports are better than college, but when have you ever seen something like this during an NBA game? pic.twitter.com/Q7ZVQLYdCt

— PSC Highlights (@psc_highlights) November 14, 2022

For anyone who isn’t familiar with the tradition, during Big 5 games after each team’s first made basket, fans would litter the floor with streamers of their team’s colors. The NCAA banned this in 1985 because they hate fun and thought it was dangerous. Temple and La Salle gave them the middle finger in 2014 via Rob Dauster at NBCSports.com:

The practice has been banned since the early 90s, with technicals being assessed to each team for objects being thrown on the floor. On Saturday, when the technicals were called, the coaches for both teams instructed their players to put their foot on the foul line as they shot, making sure the free throws didn’t count.

Here’s video:

If anything, college basketball needs more tradition. The way conference realignment is going, one day Duke and UNC probably won’t play twice a year. It’s time we get the Big 5 back to the Palestra for every game. The split crowd, the small venue, and the history of the Palestra on the walls as you walk to your seats is unlike anything you can find in college basketball today.

You can even add new concepts to the Big 5 to keep it fresh. Adding Drexel and using the relegation model would be awesome. Have a round robin type of tournament like you do now and whoever comes in last gets relegated to the City 6 until next year. You can seed each team the next year how they finished in the Big 5 standings the year prior. Is it going to matter in the grand scheme of things? Absolutely not. But in hindsight the Big 5 doesn’t matter towards anything except your record. It was always about shit talking and bragging rights. I now own Kyle Scott for the next 365 days. Imagine if Villanova makes it to the Final Four this year. What do I care? Now I can claim the Temple Owls were just as good as a Final Four team.

The post The Big 5 Needs to Take a Page Out of Georgia Southern’s Playbook and Bring the Streamers Back appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Can Villanova handle another L after losing to Temple on Friday night? We don’t want to pile on, so we’re gonna go with the “Jay Wright was hacked” explanation. It’s plausible because why would he be liking a two-year-old porn tweet in the first place? It doesn’t make sense. Who is going back to June of 2020 for Cum Perfection promos?

Something’s fishy. This doesn’t add up. Jay was hacked! The matter is settled.

The post We’re Going with the “Jay Wright was Hacked” Explanation appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Fast forward to Wednesday, and it appears the conflict has been settled. Here’s Neptune on the show:

Kyle Neptune appearing at @PrestonSteve933 Camp Out for Hunger. It appears as though fences have been mended. All is right with the world: pic.twitter.com/StoyWCoCw7

— Crossing Broad (@CrossingBroad) November 9, 2022

I listened for a little bit, but they didn’t discuss the Tuesday allegations, at least not that I heard. I wouldn’t expect them to anyway, because it would be uncomfortable and because it doesn’t matter. Some Villanova person was probably alerted to the story and said “hey, this is a bad look, let’s get coach down to the event.”

At the same time, I heard back from people who thought it was corny for Preston and Steve’s crew to spend 10 minutes talking about this on Tuesday. “I thought Preston and Steve were lame for that,” someone said to me. Maybe it was lame, maybe it wasn’t, but sometimes when you go public with a gripe, it results in action being taken, and at the end of the day, Neptune was there, Nova was represented, and you wipe the slate clean and start over with the relationship.

Whatever. Life goes on. Go Cats, go Big Five, rah rah blah blah.

The post After Tuesday’s Fuss, Villanova’s Kyle Neptune Appears at Preston and Steve Charity Event appeared first on Crossing Broad.

On Tuesday morning, the crew had some words for Villanova, alleging that they were dissed when trying to get Kyle Neptune involved:

CliffsNotes:

• Jay Wright used to participate in the pop-a-shot thing every year
• Kyle Neptune’s assistant allegedly hung up on Nick
• they claim this person was “outright rude” and “dismissive”
• the crew wants Villanova to be involved since there’s a history here
• they just wanted a straight answer

Maybe there was a misunderstanding here. A miscommunication. Who knows? For what it’s worth, Nova doesn’t play again until Friday (against Temple), so no conflicts here that we know of.

We will await a response from the Villanova person who allegedly hung up on Preston and Steve.

The post Preston and Steve Crew Says Villanova Dissed them Ahead of Annual Charity Event appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Wright is 60 years old, which results in two observations. First, he looks great for his age. He looks like he’s 42. Second, 60 is still relatively young for the big program college coaches, though Wright says he doesn’t want to coach anywhere else (via Jon Rothstein and FanDuel):

When asked Monday on the College Hoops Today Podcast if he could ever see himself coaching at another college program other than Villanova, Wright gave the following emphatic response: “Definitely not. I’m committed to Villanova and working with Father Peter Donohue — our President — outside of basketball with the athletic department, with our capital campaign. These are new things for me that are exciting. I want to keep Villanova strong — I wouldn’t want to do that (coaching) at another university.”

I believe him. Coaches go back on their word all the time, but for whatever reason, I don’t think Wright is the type of guy to do that. If he does go anywhere else, maybe he gets bored and misses the game of basketball, then does the NBA jump, but there might be a shelf life on that. I’d think he has to do that in 3-4 years or else his name comes off most GM and owner wish lists.

The Sixers make a lot of sense if Doc Rivers can’t get this team over the hump, but I’d honestly love to see what he can do with a young team like the Pistons, Magic, Rockets, or Thunder. Walk into a job where you’re coaching hungry 22 year olds and not the big egos.

Also, The Maestro started writing a Jay Wright farewell post and never finished it, so maybe we can get him to wrap it up so we can publish that bad boy. I read part of it and it was good, so we gotta compel him to git r done.

The post Jay Wright Rules Out Coaching Any Other College Program appeared first on Crossing Broad.

I’ve lost too many… https://t.co/m6hUqhqQWS pic.twitter.com/Xzk1cg1SZi

— Josh Hart (@joshhart) June 7, 2022

The final tally:

• 9 AirPods
• 2 AirPod Max’s
• 4 AirPod Pro’s
• 3 Beats Studio headphones

Josh Hart has spent roughly $4,575 on lost and replaced AirPods and Beats headphones. That’s nothing when he makes $12 million a year, but get this dude some wires. This is like the junior version of the story about Allen Iverson and how he wouldn’t pack clothes for away games, and instead just buy a whole new wardrobe on the road. Before every road trip Josh Hart has to stop into one of those electronic stores in the airport bumping EDM at 6 a.m. to buy new AirPods.

Listen, thou cast the first stone who hasn’t had their AirPods slip out of their pocket in an Uber or on a plane. Those things are elusive. I’m guilty of it, but I might have one lost case under my belt. Not 15.

And can we talk about AirPod Pro’s for a second? They’re great. The noise cancelling features are awesome especially for getting mugged in the city, but I can’t get those things to stay in my ears. I don’t know if I was born with poorly-designed ears, but none of those suction things you attach to the Pros stays in my ear. I can’t run with them. I can’t walk back from the grocery store with my hands full because they become loose in my ear every fifth step. Does this happen to anyone else or am I just EarBoy from All That? 

via All That on YouTube

I’m all ears (no pun intended) if you have any suggestions at @KyleWooderboys.

The post Josh Hart Has Lost an Insane Amount of AirPods appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Jay Wright gets emotional talking about how he knew he didn’t have the same edge during the season and he says he was not at the top of his game but his staff did a tremendous job this year

-Jay Wright says he knew it was time retire pic.twitter.com/RKzbRxBqiL

— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) April 22, 2022

Was it NIL? Was it the transfer portal? Did the cell phone scandal finally catch up to him, and Villanova’s hands were tied knowing there are postseason penalties coming? Who knows? I’m just hoping we’re getting a new coach at Nova who cares about the legendary history of the Big 5. I hope Kyle Neptune will show it the proper grace and dignity it deserves.

Also, the least Jay could’ve done is finally tell us what really happened between Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher. Did Corey Fisher really get Scottie’s girl pregnant? Don’t the people who had the Wildcats going to the Final Four in their bracket deserve to know?

The post Jay Wright Says He No Longer had the “Edge” appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Meantime, check this out. Wright hinted at his retirement back on April 2nd:

“Hoops is in the house. I get to say it one last time.”

Damn.

Jay Wright low-key hinted to everyone at the Final Four that this was his final season. What a sneaky Easter Egg this was after losing to Kansas. Wow.

Catch via @redditCBB, hat-tip @bubbaprog for the vid assist. pic.twitter.com/1vFoBRcHls

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) April 21, 2022

Crazy. Great pickup by college basketball Reddit. You can see that Jay looks/sounds somewhat emotional there. I guess nobody thought anything of it at the time because “I get to say it one last time” could be interpreted as the “last time” this season. That’s why the quote probably slid without any second guessing.

Props to Jay Wright for going out on top. No farewell tour. No “look at me” fancy shit. Just walking away from the game at age 60. Good for him.

The post Jay Wright Dropped a Retirement Hint Weeks Ago appeared first on Crossing Broad.

This just happened:

Jay Wright is likely retiring as head coach of Villanova soon, sources said, and that means a succession plan is in order for the university. https://t.co/o3fJHrUMEy

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 20, 2022

Villanova coach Jay Wright has called a team meeting to inform the players that he will be retiring, sources told @Stadium.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 20, 2022

Somebody may have to go perform a wellness check on The Maestro. Not sure if he’s in Pennsylvania or New Jersey right now, so we’ll split it up. I’ll go to his place in PA and you guys swing by Ocean City. Do not leave him alone for any period of time until the dust settles.

Speaking of dust settling, apparently there is already a succession plan in place:

Fordham University coach Kyle Neptune is expected to be the choice to succeed two-time NCAA champion Jay Wright as the new head coach of Villanova, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 20, 2022

I’ve got a ton of thoughts about this. First of all, had no idea Jay Wright was 60 years old. He looks like he’s 42. And he just up and retired in the offseason? No Coach K farewell tour? That’s low key pretty cool. No fanfare necessary, just walking away on top. Woj says that Jay Wright is NOT interested in coaching in the NBA, which is fascinating, because immediately the reaction to this was that he was going to line up something in the pro game, and that would certainly make sense, because there’s nothing else for him to do in the college game. He won two titles and took another team that wasn’t as good to the Final Four. The only thing remaining at Villanova was to continue building on that legacy.

RE: Neptune, he was a Jay Wright assistant from 2013 to 2021 and coached Fordham to a 16-16 record this season. He’s apparently peacing out after one year. See ya! In this case, Neptune is Ronnie Wood swapping Rod Stewart for The Rolling Stones.

We’ll do a longer, more proper Wright farewell tomorrow or Friday, but I’ll just say this –

Wright is a really good dude and total class act. He did amazing things with that program and earned a lot of respect along the way. All of those Nova kids were easy to cheer for, assuming you were a neutral. The national titles were sick. The parades were cool. I am totally sideswiped by this news and can’t wait to see what Wright does next. Will he pull a Tom Brady?

EDIT –

Here’s the note from Wright himself:

pic.twitter.com/XT7HPRxE5n

— Jay Wright (@CoachJayWright) April 21, 2022

The post Jay Wright is RETIRING?! (updated) appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Unfortunately Nova is gonna have to play Kansas without their second best scorer, Justin Moore, whose injury was as bad as we thought it was watching it live:

Villanova's Justin Moore has suffered a torn achilles tendon and is out indefinitely, per release.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 27, 2022

More from Rothstein:

“Villanova played one game this season without Justin Moore — an 85-74 win over UConn on February 5th in South Philadelphia. Chris Arcidiacono had nine points in 26 minutes off the bench. The Wildcats don’t have what they had, but they still have enough.”

It’s pretty crazy because the Wildcats essentially play a six-man rotation as it is. Caleb Daniels will get about 35 minutes off the bench, then Arcidiacono and Bryan Antoine will get a few minutes each, but that’s it. Jay Wright is the anti-Doc Rivers this season. With Moore out, Arcidiacono is going to have to play more than 20 minutes for only the sixth time this year.

The Final Four this year is Villanova, Kansas, Duke, and North Carolina. I know we argue about the Villanova/Philly school thing, and if you went to a Big Five school you are in no way inclined to cheer for Nova, but I better not catch any of you neutral rats pulling for the other three teams. The Cats are easily the most likeable of the remaining teams, with a classy coach, good kids, and all of that. I’d take an acid bath before pulling for Kansas, Duke, or UNC to win it all.

Go Cats.

Villanova ran over to teammate Justin Moore in the final seconds to console him. Some things. @BarstoolNova
pic.twitter.com/nO4E34i3KL

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) March 27, 2022

The post It’s a Torn Achilles for Justin Moore (Also, Nova is the Only Remaining Team Worth Pulling For) appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Congratulations on the Elite Eight to Villanova, seen here finally admitting to its undergrads that the school is not in Philadelphia pic.twitter.com/CemHDxcFHc

— Jawn Gonzalez (@JohnGonzalez) March 25, 2022

As a Temple alum, there’s nothing Temple alumni love more than reminding Villanova they aren’t a Philly school. Counterpoint: With all the dangerous shit going on around Temple’s campus recently, Villanova should be happy they aren’t a Philly school. That’s a discussion for another time…

With every Villanova run, the city gets behind the Wildcats. I would say it’s more older white dudes from the suburbs that don’t have an allegiance to a college basketball school, and are too weak not to succumb to Philly pride. Kind of like your Irish uncle in the Northeast who roots for Notre Dame. Guy can’t spell Zbikowski, but dammit if that Leprechaun on his left calf doesn’t pop in some jorts.

Here’s the thing –

The city would get behind any team that made a run. Everyone was rabid for St. Joes during their run to the Elite Eight in 2004. But the reason the city loves Nova is because Nova has been the only thing consistent since the early 2000s. Hell, if Lehigh was consistently dominant in the tournament we’d see men, women, and children dressed in plenty of poop brown.

I think the reason people hate Villanova is because they perceive the Main Line to give off this type of snarky elitism. I thought Kevin made a good point about that:

It’s the same thing every year. And then people do the Nova Main Line/elitist take, but if you’ve been anywhere else in the country, Nova “elitism” is practically nothing. Portions of the old white south and New England make Villanova look like a blue collar working class area.

— Kevin Kinkead (@Kevin_Kinkead) March 25, 2022

The real reason people hate Villanova is because at the end of the day, people just love to hate. Just like a lot of people love to hate Penn State football. Hell, the most universally-enjoyed thing in Philly sports history was the Super Bowl and two years ago there were actually people asking if you’d give it back for 10 years of good Eagles teams.

Find your ‘why.’

My “why I hate Villanova” is because they don’t respect the Big 5 and they blocked Temple from becoming an all-sports addition to the Big East rather than just football. Then Big East football falls apart a year later and it sends the program into a tailspin until the AAC started, and now the Big 12 is poaching all the good teams and we’re left playing North Texas and the Charlotte 49ers in a couple years. That’s my ‘why.’

So is Villanova a Philly school? No? Yes? Who cares? Probably ‘who cares.’ Jay Wright sure doesn’t when he’s about to hang another Final Four banner in the Pavilion by midnight Saturday.

The post Villanova is Making a Run, So We Need to Have the Debate: Is Nova a Philly School? appeared first on Crossing Broad.

It is always an honor to be able to participate in the NCAA Tournament – The best time of the year ! Good luck to all other @BIGEAST teams ! pic.twitter.com/QWaufqzujU

— Jay Wright (@VUCoachJWright) March 13, 2022

Why would the NCAA make Villanova and UDel play in a town full of Yinzers when they’re separated by 40 miles?  Instead of getting on a plane out to Sheetz country, make a special exception and let them play at Competitive Edge in KOP, sponsored by Hoagiefest, and call it a day. You think Jay Wright and Jameer Nelson Jr. want to deal with the TSA or spend five hours on the Pennsylvania Turnpike when they can just grab a quick pickup game on the black top right outside of Pats & Geno’s?

This is like when Temple had to play Penn State in the 2011 tournament out in Tucson, Arizona. They should’ve met in Hershey like it was a PIAA state championship game. Look at the reaction from Villanova. They hate this draw:

Villanova is the 2 seed in the South region and playing Delaware in the NCAA tournament Friday!

Villanova has the best record in the NCAA tourney over the last 6 years

16-3 (.842) pic.twitter.com/caVvKNm3Kz

— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) March 13, 2022

Absolutely can’t stand that they’re probably staying in some rodent infested motel off of I-376. Does Pittsburgh even have electricity yet?

Nova was given a TOUGH draw between Arizona, Houston, Illinois, and an unbelievable F you to Tennessee from the committee. I know Nova fans aren’t worried about the Blue Hens, but people forget Jay Wright hasn’t won a national championship since he stopped wearing a suit:

“It’s short term. It’s not the championships. We never thought about winning 1… 2. It’s the next game. You want that high. You want that next one until it stops”

-Jay Wright knows why Tom Brady is back: addicted to winning

Podcast with Jay on NCAAshttps://t.co/2DH3zYwmfw pic.twitter.com/GdJlvfboRO

— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) March 14, 2022

The stories these two could swap about late nights in Avalon over some pasta fagioli:

via John Clark’s podcast

Kinkead – I drew a straight line between the Nova and Delaware campuses and the exact middle ground appears to be Glen Mills. They should play this thing at Garnet Valley High School. Go Jags!

The post Petition to Play the Villanova/Delaware Game Here, Instead of Sheetz Country appeared first on Crossing Broad.

UConn HC Dan Hurley just got ejected for hyping up the crowd pic.twitter.com/F0BhIAHrI9

— Bleacher Report CBB (@br_CBB) February 23, 2022

How do you throw out a coach who was pumping up the crowd? The doors in Hartford were about to blow off the place. It’s a huge top-25 matchup for Big East and NCAA tournament seeding and you throw the coach out in the first half?

People are arguing that you can’t show up the refs. They’re saying Hurley was riding them the entire first half. Do you hear yourselves? Are we still talking about big bad Big East basketball? Listen, there’s nothing more college refs love than being the center of attention. They look for any way to insert themselves into games and make it all about them. That’s why there is no consistency. Dan Hurley has coached like a crazy person since he’s been at Wagner. If you’re a Big East ref and you have Danny Hurley on the schedule you know you’re in for a long night. It’s not a secret. Now just because a ref got his feelings hurt he sent Hurley to the showers early. Make the Big East Great Again.

It sucks this is the main takeaway from that the game, because it was awesome! Back and forth all night with a March feel to it. A much needed appetizer for the Big East tournament. If you live on the Main Line you’re probably still pissed about the charge call on Collin Gillespie. Hold on while I enjoy your tears for a second because they are delicious:

It’s a bang-bang play. Gillespie is out of control. If you want to bum rush a guy looking for a foul call that’s fine, but RJ Cole beat him to the spot by a mile and he’s out of the restricted area:

WOW! WHAT. A. GAME!

Collin Gillespie called on a last-second charge to give UConn (-155) the win over Villanova.

Is the @BIGEAST back?https://t.co/KknbjQTVWI

— Covers (@Covers) February 23, 2022

If Caleb Daniels makes his free throws, for the greatest free throw shooting team of all time, with 30 seconds left to put Nova up 6, we’re singing a different tune today. The narrative is all about Dan Hurley’s antics fresh off of the Juwan Howard dustup.

Also, people mad that UConn fans stormed the court because they were favorites and are ranked are just miserable. Storm the court every chance you get. You only have four years to do it at college. You’re not going remember Mike on Twitter insulting you for storming the court five years from now. You’re going to remember beating Villanova your sophomore year and being in a giant crowd with your best friends all celebrating the same thing:

WE LOVE A COURT STORM

After being down by 4 with 21 seconds left, the @UConnMBB Husky's make a statement and come away with the W pic.twitter.com/DAhLYIRkVX

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) February 23, 2022

Hell, Clemson does it after every football win.

P.S., pray for everyone who had UConn -2.5. Gross:

Prayers to anyone with UConn -2.5 … pic.twitter.com/Sc5jdB9Ngw

— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) February 23, 2022

The post Another Ref Show with Dan Hurley Ejected from UConn/Nova Game appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Thanks Domo. And you as well.

— Joe Juliano (@JoeJulesinq) December 21, 2021

Juliano did a little bit of everything for the Inquirer, focusing most recently on Penn State football and Villanova basketball. He wrote about golf and handled the paper’s Penn Relays coverage, and there was a stint covering the Sixers from 2003 to 2007. According to Joe’s profile at The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia website, “…he came to the Inquirer after ten years at United Press International, where he spent his last seven years as their Philadelphia Sports Editor. He also worked in UPI bureaus located in Miami and Trenton.”

Joe was one of the few guys left who was writing about non-professional sports. If you look at what the Inquirer is doing now, they have college students chipping in to complement Mike Jensen’s work. Same thing with high schools. One of their contributors is a kid who graduates from Penn in 2023, so this ain’t your grandmother’s Inquirer.

Juliano’s departure is part of the paper’s shift into newer, digital-focused content. There’s one more departure to go, which should be announced soon, but over the past two years the paper has seen the following folks leave: Mike Kern, Dick Jerardi, Sam Donnellon, John Smallwood (RIP), Rick O’Brien, Bob Ford, Phil Anastasia, Les Bowen, Paul Domowitch, Marc Narducci, Ed Barkowitz, Bob Brookover, and Frank Fitzpatrick.

The post Philadelphia Inquirer’s Joe Juliano Retiring appeared first on Crossing Broad.

One more time pic.twitter.com/Ma34lQYmOg

— Collin Gillespie (@Colling1021) April 12, 2021

Gillespie tore his MCL in March, which ended his season prematurely. Nova wasn’t the same without him, but got to the Sweet 16 and gave Baylor a nice test before ultimately falling to the eventual champs.

Averaging 14.4 points and 4.7 assists this year, he was Nova’s best and most experienced player, coming off the bench for the 2018 title-winning team and then assuming a starting role in the following seasons.

Also returning is Jermaine Samuels:

One last rodeo pic.twitter.com/VGupnyf0s3

— Jermaine Samuels Jr. (@J_Swizz23) April 12, 2021

Samuels averaged 12/6/2 this season, and had a nice tournament, shooting 13-24 from the floor and hitting 15 of 16 free throws. He didn’t have a great three-point shooting experience in the Big Dance, but scored 16 against Baylor and 15 against North Texas. He’s a 6’7″ forward and shoe-in starter who helped filled the Gillespie void, post injury.

Good stuff for the Cats, who will be a preseason top-10 team with both seniors returning.

The post Collin Gillespie and Jermaine Samuels Returning to Villanova appeared first on Crossing Broad.

They finished 18-7, giving the national champion Baylor Bears a good first-half challenge before the #1 seed pulled away for a 62-51 victory.

Now, leading scorer Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is declaring for the NBA draft:

pic.twitter.com/EwJcVrodyf

— Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (@ThisIsJRE) April 9, 2021

JRE is a sophomore who averaged 15.7 points and 8.5 rebounds this year. He’s a smart combo forward, 6’8″ and about 230 pounds, and he plays with good quickness and agility. Great defender, especially off the ball, and he was stuck having to guard opposing centers fairly often at the college level, which won’t be the case in the NBA. Projections have him going somewhere late in the first round or early in the second round, but we’re a long way from the draft, so take all of that with a grain of salt.

He does need to improve his shooting at the next level if teams are going to use him as a stretch player, because in two seasons with Nova he only shot about 30% from three and his free-throw percentage dipped significantly this season. But he does have a great touch around the rim and his offensive game looks like it might interface well with current NBA trends. More than anything, two years with Jay Wright is a huge advantage in the culture/attitude/mentality department, and we’ve seen a number of Nova players stick with NBA teams over the past four or five draft classes.

The post Jeremiah Robinson-Earl Declares for NBA Draft appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Let’s take a closer look at this matchup with our Villanova vs. Baylor betting pick that includes odds, analysis and ATS prediction.

Villanova vs. Baylor Betting Pick

After bouncing back with two impressive wins to start the tournament, Villanova finds itself as an underdog for the first time all season. Let’s dissect whether the Bears have what it takes to cover a sizable number against the resurgent Wildcats.

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Villanova vs. Baylor Odds

Here are the latest Villanova vs. Baylor odds listed at DraftKings Sportsbook:

As mentioned above, it is interesting to see Villanova as an underdog for the first time this season, let alone a dog of this magnitude, receiving upwards of 7.5 points at most online sportsbooks.

There is a short list of teams deserving of laying such a number to a Nova team that was fast-tracked for a No. 1 seed at points this season, and Baylor is certainly on that list.

With an electric offense, a Big 12 resume, and just two losses across the entirety of this season, the Bears bring a very different challenge for the Wildcats than did their first two NCAA Tournament opponents, No. 12 seed Winthrop and No. 13 seed North Texas.

The total of 141.5 has jumped up from an opening number of 138 and with Baylor’s top-end scoring offense and Nova’s 78.5 ppg average in two tournament games, this seems completely reasonable. After all, the Wildcats saw their lowest total of the season last time out against North Texas and sailed over that 125.5 number by nearly 20 points.

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Why Villanova Can Cover the Spread

Villanova has done much to dispel bettors’ valid concerns that it was a lost team without Collin Gillespie in the lineup. Nova went from losing two straight without him to finish their Big East season to winning two straight both SU and ATS with relative ease in the first two rounds of the tournament.

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl has more than picked up the slack, averaging 20 points per game, 8.5 rebounds per game, and 6 assists per game. The Wildcats’ defense has upped its game as well, allowing just 62 points per contest in two games to start the tourney. If the game is close late, Nova has one of the best free throw shooting groups in the country, which could make the difference against a subpar free throw shooting group from Waco.

Of note, the Wildcats were 11-1 SU on at least three days of rest this season, managing a 7-1 SU record on long rest against opponents also coming in with at least three days off.

You would have to go back to last season to see this, but the Wildcats have not lost any of their last four games ATS as an underdog. They’ve also covered five of their last six games as dogs on a neutral court.

At the end of the day, since 2016, this has kind of been the Wildcats’ tournament. Besides winning the whole thing twice since then, they have also covered 17 of their last 22 games in the Big Dance. Without a single loss ATS in their last five games against teams with above a .600 winning percentage, it is completely reasonable for Nova backers to believe their team can cover this large number, if not win the game outright.

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Why Baylor Can Cover the Spread

Baylor, despite laying a large number to a team that has yet to be an underdog all season, has every reason to believe it is at least 10 points better than this Villanova team.

Baylor and Gonzaga were runaways as the nation’s two best teams for much of the early portion of the season. The Bears won 17 straight to start their season, winning those games by an insane 24.2 points per game.

In fact, the only thing that has truly slowed this team down at any point this season has been a 21-day stoppage forced upon it due to COVID-19.

After that layoff, the Bears beat Iowa State by just five as a 24-point favorite, then lost to Kansas and bareely edged West Virginia in overtime. They followed those lackluster performances with four missed covers in their next five games, one of which was another outright loss, this time to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Tournament.

This poor run of form tempered bettors’ faith in the Bears and, with it, oddsmakers’ treatment of their line in the Round of 32.

But a convincing win over Wisconsin coupled with the team’s first real chance to recover and gameplan since its layoff (nine games in 27 days before this six-day break), should allow one of the nation’s best teams to finally put its best foot forward again.

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Villanova vs. Baylor Prediction

Through a season that showed Baylor’s true colors early on, but then set them up to fail after a three-week break beyond its control, we think the six-day respite before this game will pay huge dividends for the Bears. They boast the nation’s best three-point shooting percentage (42.9%) as part of the third-highest scoring offense (85.3 ppg) and 13th-ranked field goal percentage offense (49.7%).

The Bears were a strong 6-1 ATS this season when favorites of 3-8 points and 21 of their 24 wins came by 8+ points, good enough to cover this spread.

These two teams met early last season and Baylor handled the Wildcats at home with a nine-point win as a small underdog.

Baylor returns that team mainly intact, while Villanova now has to try to close the gap without Gillespie and Saddiq Bey (now on the Pistons), who combined for 43 of the ‘Cats 78 points in that head-to-head loss. Without those two here to help, it is unlikely the Wildcats will be able to keep pace with the high-scoring Bears.

Villanova vs. Baylor ATS Pick: Baylor -7.5

The post Villanova vs. Baylor Betting Pick: Sweet 16 Prediction appeared first on Crossing Broad.

But which is worse?

Which topic makes your eyes roll into the back of your skull and crashes your body into an subliminally-induced coma the fastest?

What is more annoying… to hear someone talk about their fantasy football team or their NCAA brackets? Let’s dive into this and see which is worse.

Let’s start here… both are mind numbingly dull topics if they’re not about YOUR brackets or YOUR fantasy teams. There is no greater gap of interest to boredom than the gap of talking about your own brackets or teams compared with listening to someone else talk about theirs. Friendships have been ruined over a person not being able to take hearing one more goddamn minute of a discussion about their buddy’s fantasy draft where Kenny Golladay fell to them in the fifth round. Wives have divorced husbands simply so they never have to hear about the time their significant other picked 12-seed Miami of Ohio over 5-seed Arizona in the 1995 tournament ever again. Sure, the divorce ruined their kids’ mental health and overall well-being in the process, but it was warranted.

Brackets, at least, have the commonality of picking the same games as your peers. You can argue over why you think Michigan will make the Final Four based purely on the only four minutes you watched all year, with your friend who accidentally printed out the NIT bracket and thinks UMASS has a great chance. And despite the fact that both of you will have wasted $20 on a bracket that’s busted by the second round, it can bring you together for the briefest of moments before making you want to slit your wrists after some guy’s 13-year-old nephew wins the $5,000 pool prize for the second year in a row.

Fantasy football teams, while having the commonality of 12 other guys in the same league, mean next to nothing to everyone OUTSIDE of your league. Yes, everyone plays fantasy football, but unless they’re actually in your league they DO NOT give a shit about the bargain you got in the 13th round or how you totally swindled your buddy ‘K-Train’ out of Jason Kelce when he was distracted by the death of his grandmother. SHE WAS HIS GUIDING LIGHT, and he probably didn’t meant to accept Hunter Henry straight up for him, but that’s not your problem.

Yes, everyone picks the same players from the same vast pool, but who cares about hearing about your team outside of your league. The other guys in your league don’t care about your team, why would Suzie from accounting care about your team? At least with March Madness brackets most people can share stories about how poorly they do every year. Those don’t hit the same with fantasy football stories when you “totally lost by 0.2 points” after a last-minute fumble.

And hey, you can only talk about your brackets for a few weeks compared with 16 weeks of fantasy football.

That settles it. Fantasy football discussions edge out NCAA bracket discussions as more annoying in our opinion. What do you think?

The post The Annoyance Factor: March Madness Brackets or Fantasy Football Teams? appeared first on Crossing Broad.

First two rounds of the NCAA tournament, a couple of Sixers victories, and upsets galore across the college landscape. The weather also happened to be beautiful, so hopefully you got outside, stayed far away from toxic social media, and used your indoor time to watch hoops and do other productive things.

In lieu of the typical Sixers recap, let’s instead do numbered bullets and touch on a bunch of bball topics:

1. What a win for the Sixers on Saturday night. You have to love Tobias Harris’ play, and that quote he dropped after the game talking about the motivation he and others receive when people suggest they can’t win without Joel Embiid or Ben Simmons. They were down three starters and just blew Sacramento out of the water.
2. As good as Harris was on Saturday, he was equally as poor on Sunday, missing free throws that would have iced the game in regulation. But he had the opportunity to right that wrong in overtime, and he hit a massive three pointer and two foul shots to not only win the game, but correct his previous mistake, and that’s the sign of a great player.
3. Sunday night’s game was not an instant classic, but it was one of those where the Sixers would have found a way to lose in years past. We’ve said that a lot this season, and it seems like the squad is just mentally more mature under Doc Rivers. No clue how much of that is directly attributable to him, but the change is noticeable.
4. Rivers thought the Sixers executed horrendously and made a lot of mistakes against the Knicks. Everybody knows this, but it’s nice to hear him come out and be blunt about this after the game. Rivers: “The game should have never gone into overtime, let me just put it that way.“
5. I absolutely loved the timeout Rivers called after the first Knicks basket of overtime. That’s one of those perfect examples of a veteran coach knowing when to insert himself into a game, vs. letting things continue to play out organically.
6. Julius Randle is right to be upset about the foul that was called on him in overtime. He didn’t get much of a body on Harris, who wasn’t exactly gesturing to the refs as if he was fouled. But if Randle is calling for a whistle there, then he probably deserved one on the game-tying three pointer at the end of regulation, when he got away with some forearm separation to launch that shot. In most cases, whenever somebody complains about the reffing, you can always find a sequence or two where they or their team benefited, and it generally turns out to be a wash.
7. Great to see Shake Milton playing well again. They need his bench scoring and they’re gonna need him as a contributing sixth man in the playoffs.
8. This Knicks team plays hard for Thibs, and they junk up games and defend well, but God almighty do they need a #1 scorer and somebody who can close a game. Randle and Alec Burks isn’t gonna move the needle.
9. My current favorite statistic/topic is a credit to Danny Small at Elite Sports NY, who pointed out a few weeks ago that the last time the Knicks beat the Sixers, Alex Poythress and Maurice Ndour were in the starting lineups.
10. Not sure if people even realize this, but Danny Green is shooting 41% from three in the month of March. He’s hit 17 of 36 since that rough outing in the other recent Knicks game.
11. Good weekend for Villanova, seriously. They went into the tournament not at full strength and covered against a very trendy upset pick in Winthrop. Then they took advantage of a preferable second-round matchup and used a 34-6 run to just clobber North Texas. You can only play who’s in front of you, but taking this team to the Sweet 16 in a pandemic year with the Collin Gillespie injury is a nice feather in Jay Wright’s cap.
12. Rutgers should have won. Too much stall ball and milking it towards the end of the game. They let Houston go on a 14-2 run down the stretch and just didn’t execute when it mattered. That was a shame from a neutral standpoint, because they played well against Clemson and they were taking it to a #2 seed. Rough way to go out after a nice season for the Scarlet Knights. They’re gonna be thinking about that one and replaying it in their heads for a long time.
13. Rough outing for Drexel, who were just overmatched against Illinois. But that was a great conference tournament run for Zach Spiker’s team, and you’d like to see the Dragons continue to improve and make themselves relevant in the City 6 scene. There’s room to step in grab some headlines because right now Temple, St. Joe’s, and La Salle are barely on the radar. Penn is a good program but didn’t even play this year.
14. Nobody who reads Crossing Broad necessarily gives a shit about West Virginia, but Bob Huggins made some national news when he won his 900th game against Morehead State before losing to #11 Syracuse. The bottom line is that Huggins has underachieved in the tournament throughout his career, not just at WVU, but at Cincinnati as well. And when he did go to the Final Four 10 years ago, he did it with a handful of guys recruited by John Beilein. In a way, he’s 2010 Andy Reid, because WVU probably isn’t going to find anybody better, but at the same we’re justifiably left wanting more. Perennially disappointed.
15. Jim Boeheim is 76 years old and his 21-year-old son plays for Syracuse. Think about that for a minute.
16. What is it with ‘Cuse and these annoying white guards who always play really well? Gerry McNamara, Eric Devendorf, Andy Rautins, Trevor Cooney, and now Buddy Boeheim. It’s like an assembly line of assholes that you would begrudgingly love to have on your team.
17. There were a ton of upsets in the first weekend of the tournament, but that shouldn’t be surprising. Not only has there been increased parity in the college game for some time now, but with teams playing wonky schedules this year, it was always going to be harder for the selection committee to seed properly. Plus, no traveling fans, no pseudo-home games, none of that. This is as close to a vacuum as we’re gonna get.
18. It’s insane going from college ball to the NBA game. Absolutely jarring from an offensive execution and pure scoring standpoint. I used to be one of those people, maybe 15 years ago, who only watched college ball because “they play defense,” but the older you get you realize that it’s actually the opposite. The college game features a lot of static and lumbering offense, and this gives you greater appreciation of the elite NBA scorers, who process the game and move the ball in a way that 19 and 20 year olds just cannot. The speed of the game is much different, as players find out when they turn pro in any sport.
19. I do appreciate the style variations we see in the college game, that just aren’t there in the NBA. There was 2-3 zone, a lot of flex stuff, full court press, and things that aren’t totally feasible in the pro game, at least not for a sustained period of time. (this is similar in college football, too, where unique schemes and approaches are possible, like no NFL team would ever run a 3-3-5 stack)
20. Agree or disagree? – I can’t get down with the second round of the tournament trickling into Monday. March Madness should only be 64 teams, with the first round games being played on Thursday and Friday. The only reason it’s even remotely working this year is because we’re still stuck at home due to the pandemic, which allows us to put the games on in the background while sitting at the computer. But could you imagine if we were playing the games today with people in an office setting? It would never work. There was no reason to change the timing or format of the tournament. Leave it be. It’s an American sporting tradition unlike any other.

The post Basketball Weekend – 20 Thoughts on the Sixers, Villanova, Rutgers, Drexel, and More appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Collin Gillespie is out for the year. Justin Moore is coming off the ankle injury and played 27 bench minutes in the Georgetown loss. The Cats have lost three of four and earned themselves a #5 seed as they stagger into the NCAA Tournament.

They’re paired with the #12 seed Winthrop Eagles, who went 23-1 this season in the Big South Conference, which is absolutely terrible. Villanova was navigating the Big East while Winthrop was dispatching juggernauts like Campbell, Radford, High Point, and South Carolina Upstate, which is apparently located in Spartanburg.

But the conference and strength of schedule doesn’t seem to bother the experts, because it seems like they are overwhelmingly picking Winthrop to take out Nova:

Winthrop upset of Villanova is visible from space.

— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) March 14, 2021

It'd be an upset if Villanova beat Winthrop.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 14, 2021

Villanova is in trouble …

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 14, 2021

Winthrop over Villanova, easy

— Mid-Major Madness (@mid_madness) March 14, 2021

Seth Davis also picking Winthrop:

.@SethDavisHoops reveals his full #MarchMadness bracket, with @ZagMBB taking it all.

How does yours stack up? pic.twitter.com/f2l49g9Jyr

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) March 15, 2021

We know there’s a 12/5 upset almost every year. In fact, in 2019, we had three 12 seeds advance, with Murray State, Liberty, and Oregon all getting it done. In 2017, Middle Tennessee took out Minnesota and in 2016 Yale and Little Rock both won. In three of the last four tournaments, at least one twelve seed has moved on to the second round.

Nobody should be surprised if this happens to Nova, but the line looks really funky to me. Nova is -6 at most of the books and -265 on the moneyline. Winthrop getting six points seems a little surprising, considering the way the experts seem to feel about this matchup. If anything, the Eagles at +6 feels like the best value play right now, because Villanova’s last two games have been decided by a grand total of three points and the matchups have been close, low-scoring affairs. Even without Gillespie, Winthrop hasn’t played anybody half as decent as Nova, Creighton, or UConn, so even though the Cats are stumbling along right now, there’s still enough raw talent to justify putting your money on a tight game type of line.

As always, when the experts seem to universally agree on something, but Vegas lines are somewhat incongruent, be wary.

Check out the NCAA Tournament odds here.

And click here for your printable bracket.

The post Experts Seem to Love Winthrop Over Villanova appeared first on Crossing Broad.

NCAA Tournament time baby! (Dick Vitale voice)

The selection show just wrapped up, and we’ve got two local squads going dancing, plus our regional friends, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Yes, Rutgers basketball is in the NCAA tournament. It’s a miracle!

Unfortunately it’s gonna be an absolute dog fight for two of the three squads, because Villanova lost Collin Gillespie for the season and Drexel’s miraculous conference title run saw them rewarded with a sixteen seed and a highly-likely ass whoopin.’

Here’s the Wildcats’ situation:

They’re a five seed with a first round matchup against the Big South champions, the Winthrop Eagles. They went 23-1 this season, losing their only game to UNC-Asheville.

Kyle and I don’t know jack shit about Winthrop, but the experts seem to think the Cats are in trouble:

Winthrop upset of Villanova is visible from space.

— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) March 14, 2021

It'd be an upset if Villanova beat Winthrop.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 14, 2021

Yeah? This is interesting. This is one of those cases where EVERYBODY is gonna pile onto Winthrop, the line will move, and then Nova might be playing with a lot of underdog motivation, ala Jason Kelce.

As for the Drexel, they get the distinction of being a #16 seed, and Rutgers is the #10 in the same bracket:

Drexel is cooked, but that’s a good draw for Rutgers.

Clemson is not a juggernaut, and Houston is good, but if you’re giving me a choice of #2 seeds to play in the round of 32, they’re my choice.

Anyway, let’s go babyyyyy. Let’s go Wildcats. Let’s go Knights. Let’s go Dragons. Let’s shock the world.

Check out the NCAA Tournament odds here.

And click here for your printable bracket.

The post March Madness: Villanova Gets a Five Seed, Drexel a Sixteen, Rutgers a Ten appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Jay Wright is a finalist for the b-ball Hall:

The 2021 Naismith Memorial Basketball HOF Finalists

Rick Adelman
Leta Andrews
Chris Bosh
Michael Cooper
Yolanda Griffith
Tim Hardaway
Lauren Jackson
Marques Johnson
Paul Pierce
(Coach) Bill Russell
Marianne Stanley
Ben Wallace
Chris Webber
Jay Wright pic.twitter.com/8c60qOUNqU

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 9, 2021

That’s a pretty damn good list.

RE: Wright, he’s gonna get in at some point. He’s got two national titles and more than 600 career wins. And Villanova was excellent even before the Big East realignment. Wright took the Wildcats to a Final Four, Elite Eight, and two Sweet 16s while going seven straight years with 20+ wins in a conference that used to include UConn, Syracuse, Pitt, Louisville, WVU, Cincy, and other damn good squads. That’s not to say the Big East isn’t any good now, because it is, but the conference setup of 10-15 years ago was murderer’s row. Awesome basketball.

The 2021 class will be announced on May 16th. Then they’ll do the induction in Springfield in September.

The post Jay Wright is a Basketball Hall of Fame Finalist appeared first on Crossing Broad.

The best we can hope for is a valiant tournament run. Are they underdogs? Perhaps…

Meantime, here comes FOCO with another cool bobblehead. The same company that did the gnarly Andrew McCutchen and Allen Iverson dolls is now offering this “Will D Cat” figurine:

This is pretty rad. The maestro will certainly appreciate this as a Villanova alumnus. Perhaps we will buy him one for his birthday, and then we all get raises and an additional week of vacation!

Looks like this bad boy is selling for $45 and they’re taking pre-orders right now. 

The post Villanova’s Will D. Cat Gets the Bobblehead Treatment appeared first on Crossing Broad.