La Salle and coach Darris Nichols return home on Saturday to host LIU after opening with a tough road game at Houston on Monday. (Photo: La Salle Athletics)
By AARON BRACY
November 5, 2026
The Big 5 season is well underway, and the opening week already has produced stars, storylines, and interesting stats from the first six games.
A reminder to bookmark the schedule/results page at Big5Hoops.com for daily updates.
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SIX STARS (one from each team)
Tyler Perkins, Villanova: Senior netted 18 points in 74-72 loss to Notre Dame in Rome.
Jordan Marsh, Temple: USC transfer tallied 16 points in Owls debut in 68-56 home win over Central Connecticut.
Kam Burton, La Salle: Houston native hit four 3PT FG and totaled 15 points in 94-55 loss at No. 10 Houston.
Latief Lorenzano-White, Drexel: Freshman guard from Imhotep scored 11 points in 89-60 loss at No. 9 Virginia.
Jaiden Glover-Toscano, Saint Joseph’s: First-team A-10 preseason pick had 22 points and 7 rebounds in Hawks’ 82-73 win over Longwood.
Lucas Lueth, Penn: Had 14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 1 poster dunk against No. 3 Illinois in Thursday’s 112-70 defeat.
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THREE OPENING STORYLINES
–Work for Suigo: Highly touted Villanova 7-foot-3, 289-pound freshman Luigi Suigo had 7 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 turnovers in 24 pedestrian minutes in the Wildcats’ loss to Notre Dame. Suigo showed flashes of why he is being talked about as an NBA first-round pick, hitting a three-pointer and throwing down an alley-oop dunk. But he has much work to do, as would be expected for a first-year player in a new country and a new level of competition. He got to the free-throw line zero times, something that is hard to believe for someone of his size. Coach Kevin Willard is using Suigo offensively at the top of the key, similar to how the 76ers use Joel Embiid, but the high pick-and-roll game was ineffective against the Irish because Suigo rarely put a body on opponents while setting a screen. First task for Willard and staff: Show Suigo how to set a proper screen. The pick-and-roll game doesn’t work if the screener doesn’t screen. Two other areas for improvement: Defensive footwork and offensive post-ups. Watching Suigo’s development is one of the major storylines of the season in Philadelphia.
–Fresh, new energy on Hawk Hill: There are so many positive vibes coming from Saint Joseph’s, from new AD Ash Puri, to the reconciliation with Phil Martelli, to the throwback warmups in homage to the 2003–04 Hawks. It seems as if the dark cloud that has been hanging over the program for the last seven years has been lifted. The box score wasn’t overly impressive against Longwood, as the Hawks played them closer than probably coach Steve Donahue would have liked. But Donahue was all smiles while banging the drum in the student section afterward. There is still much work to do ahead for the Hawks, both on and off the court, but the vibe on Wednesday was yet another sign of the fun that is developing at St. Joe’s.
–What can Temple be? On paper, this appears to be the most talented and deepest roster in the fourth year under coach Adam Fisher. Fisher’s tenure has been beset with injury and bad luck. I am curious to see what the Owls can be this season. It feels like contending in The American should be possible this year. We’ll see. A 17-0 game-opening run to start the season in Monday’s win over Central Connecticut feels like a good sign. Another good sign? Temple is providing free transportation for students to Sunday’s game at the Palestra against Richmond. The Owls also have pushed up home tipoffs to 6:30 p.m. in hopes of attracting more students and staff. The atmosphere at the Liacouras Center in recent years has been nonexistent. Glad to see Temple trying some things to improve it. Of course, winning on the court is the best way to get a good crowd. Interested to see what happens this season, on and off the court, on North Broad Street.
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STATS & STUFF
-Villanova had 20 turnovers that led to 20 Notre Dame points and allowed 17 offensive rebounds against the Irish. Not going to win too many games doing that.
-Playing at Virginia was never going to be easy for Drexel. The Dragons fought back from a 16-2 deficit and played a relatively even second half, losing 38-33 after halftime. UVA helped itself with 18 steals that were part of 21 Drexel turnovers.
-St. Joe’s Sean Logan had a unique box score against Longwood: 5 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 6 blocks, 1 of 7 free throws
-Surprised to see the following: Villanova’s Devin Royal took 1 shot in 32 minutes against Notre Dame, and La Salle’s Rob Dockery had 1 point in just 7 minutes versus Houston. Good news for Explorers fans: Dockery is healthy but ran into early foul trouble and never got into any kind of rhythm. Look for a bounceback game on Saturday against LIU.
-Question while watching Villanova: Who will be the Wildcats’ point guard? Whoever it is, is going to have to prioritize running the high pick-and-roll with Suigo effectively. Didn’t see that against Notre Dame.
-Got to be impressed by the debut of rookie Hawks guard BJ Ranson, who had 17 points and 6 rebounds in 24 minutes against Longwood. Also impressive? Junior point guard Khaafiq Myers, who had 17 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and, importantly, just 1 turnover in 31 strong minutes.
-Like the road openers for Drexel and La Salle, it was never going to be easy for Penn at Illinois on Thursday. The Quakers kept it close early before Illinois pulled away beginning midway through the first half. The score itself was lopsided, but how about these numbers: Illinois had a 62-33 rebounding advantage and 66-28 margin in points in the paint. They also kept Penn star TJ Power in check, as he had 6 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.
RESULTS
Sunday
Notre Dame 74, Villanova 72
Monday
Temple 68, Central Connecticut 56
Houston 94, La Salle 55
Tuesday
Virginia 89, Drexel 60
Wednesday
Saint Joseph’s 82, Longwood 73
Thursday
Penn at Illinois, 830 pm, FS1
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday
Holy Cross at Villanova, 7 pm
Saturday
Colgate at Drexel, 2 pm
LIU at La Salle, 330 pm
Lafayette at Saint Joseph’s, 4 pm
Sunday
Richmond vs. Temple, 5 pm, Palestra, ESPN2
BIG 5 POD PLAY
Big 5 Pod play starts next week. Here’s the schedule:
POD 1
Tuesday, Nov. 10
La Salle at Villanova, 7 pm, truTV
Sunday, Nov. 15
Temple at La Salle, 2 pm
Tuesday, Dec. 1
Villanova at Temple, 6:30 pm
POD 2
Saturday, Nov. 14
Penn at Saint Joseph’s, 6:30 pm
Friday, Nov. 20
Saint Joseph’s at Drexel, 7 pm, NBC Sports Philadelphia
Tuesday, Nov. 24
Drexel at Penn, 8 pm, NBC Sports Philadelphia
Saturday, Dec. 5
Big 5 Classic Tripleheader, Xfinity Mobile Arena
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Aaron Bracy has covered sports in Philadelphia for nearly three decades for various publications and as a freelancer for the Associated Press. His first book, A Soaring Season: The Incredible, Inspiring Story of the 2003–04 Saint Joseph’s Hawks (Brookline), can be ordered HERE. His second book, Are You Kidding Me? The Incredible, Inspiring Story of Allen Iverson and the 2001 Philadelphia 76ers (Brookline) is scheduled to be published in February 2027. You can preorder it HERE. Follow Bracy on social media HERE. Contact him at bracymedia@gmail.com.