By AARON BRACY
December 2, 2024
It was another exciting week of basketball in the Big 5, with some outstanding performances both individually and as a team. There also were some disappointments and setbacks, as we detail below. Let’s take a look back at the games played between November 25–December 1.
5 Big 5 Stars from Last Week
1) Corey McKeithan, La Salle: The Rider transfer continued his outstanding play with a tremendous performance in La Salle’s 83-75 win over Temple on Saturday at Glaser Arena that punched the Explorers’ ticket to the Big 5 Classic title game. In 37 minutes, he had a career-high 28 points, four assists, three rebounds, two steals, and zero turnovers while shooting 52.6 percent (10 of 19) from the field, including 3 of 6 from three-point range, and a perfect 5 of 5 from the free throw line.
2) Quante Berry, Temple: Berry single-handedly kept the Owls in the contest against La Salle, with 18 points and 15 rebounds in 34 minutes.
3) Dasear Haskins, Saint Joseph’s: The redshirt freshman from Willingboro, New Jersey, produced the best game of his young career in the Hawks’ 83-54 home rout of Coppin State on Tuesday, with 15 points and four rebounds in 21 minutes. Haskins made 6 of 8 shots, including 3 of 5 three-pointers.
4) Kobe MaGee, Drexel: MaGee helped Drexel split a pair of games against Purdue Fort Wayne (87-81 loss on Monday) and Chicago State (83-71 win on Tuesday) in Florida, averaging 19 points and seven rebounds in the contests.
5) Ethan Roberts, Penn: The Drake transfer averaged 25.3 points in Penn’s 1-2 showing in the Cathedral Classic over the weekend, losing 86-78 to Navy on Friday; beating Maine, 77-64, on Saturday; before falling 68-53 to Elon on Sunday.
5 Big Takeaways from Last Week
1) The new Big 5 format is producing. There was so much excitement and interest in Saturday’s game between La Salle and Temple in large part because the winner earned a spot in the Big 5 Classic title game.
2) La Salle is really good. Atlantic 10 foes that look at the Explorers’ ranking of 15th of 15 teams in the preseason poll are going to be in for a rude awakening. I wouldn’t be surprised if La Salle contends for a top-6 seed in the A-10 tournament.
3) Villanova got back to defense. Sure, it was just Rider, but the Wildcats’ got back to the kind of defense that they played during their best stretch of basketball last season, scoring 26 points off 17 Broncs turnovers and holding Rider scoreless during a key 16-0 run that spanned both halves. It will get tougher for Villanova against undefeated Cincinnati at home on Tuesday, but the Wildcats will be in the game if they play that kind of defense.
4) Saint Joseph’s is in a good spot. The Hawks did what they needed to do against Coppin State. The home loss to Central Connecticut isn’t great on their resumé, but the victory over Texas Tech certainly helps. Now, St. Joe’s enters a key stretch of their nonconference schedule, beginning at home on Tuesday against Princeton, that could make or break their NCAA tournament at-large chances.
5) Glaser Arena is just right. This isn’t the first time I’ve said this, but I’ll say it again: La Salle got it right with its new arena.
Big 5 Pod Schedule/Results
Pod 1
11/12: St. Joe’s 83, Villanova 76
11/15: St. Joe’s 83, Penn 69
11/19: Villanova 93, Penn 49
Pod 2
11/12: Temple 69, Drexel 61
11/16: La Salle 71, Drexel 68
11/30: La Salle 83, Temple 75
Big 5 Classic Tripleheader
12/7: Wells Fargo Center
Fifth-place game: Penn vs. Drexel, 2 p.m.
Third-place game: Villanova vs. Temple, 4:30 p.m.
Championship game: Saint Joseph’s vs. La Salle, 7 p.m.
Last Week’s Story Links
-11/28/24: Confident Dasear Haskins gives Saint Joseph’s another valuable player
-11/28/24: Temple, Fisher excited for Saturday’s high-stakes Big 5 matchup against La Salle at Glaser Arena
Big 5 Records
(Through 12/1/24)
La Salle 6-2
Saint Joseph’s 5-2
Drexel 5-3
Temple 4-3
Villanova 4-4
Penn 3-5
Big 5 Scoring Leaders
(Through 12/1/24)
1. Eric Dixon, Villanova, 25.1
2. Jamal Mashburn Jr., Temple, 22.1
3. Corey McKeithan, La Salle, 19.0
4. Ethan Roberts, Penn, 18.0
5. Kobe MaGee, Drexel, 16.5
6. Xzayvier Brown, Saint Joseph’s, 16.0
7. Erik Reynolds II, Saint Joseph’s, 15.4
8. Rasheer Fleming, Saint Joseph’s, 13.4
9. Steve Settle III, Temple, 13.1
T10. Yame Butler, Drexel, 12.5
T10. Wooga Poplar, Villanova, 12.5
Big 5 Rebounding Leaders
(Through 12/1/24)
1. Rasheer Fleming, Saint Joseph’s, 9.1
2. Cole Hargrove, Drexel, 8.8
3. Demetrius Lilley, La Salle, 7.6
T4. Steve Settle III, Temple, 7.1
T4. Nick Spinoso, Penn, 7.1
6. Jahlil White, La Salle, 6.9
7. Eric Dixon, Villanova, 6.5
8. Wooga Poplar, Villanova, 6.3
9. Babatunde Durodola, Temple, 6.1
10. Quante Berry, Temple, 6.0
Last Week’s Results
Monday, Nov. 25
Purdue Fort Wayne 87, Drexel 81
Tuesday, Nov. 26
Drexel 83, Chicago State 71
Saint Joseph’s 83, Coppin State 54
Wednesday, Nov. 27
Villanova 72, Rider 48
Friday, Nov. 29
Navy 86, Penn 78
Saturday, Nov. 30
La Salle 83, Temple 75
Penn 77, Maine 64
Sunday, Dec. 1
Elon 68, Penn 53
This Week’s Schedule
Monday, Dec. 2
Bryant at Drexel, 7 pm
Tuesday, Dec. 3
Cincinnati at Villanova, 6:30 pm, FS1
Princeton at Saint Joseph’s, 7 pm
La Salle at Northeastern, 7 pm
Saturday, Dec. 7
Big Five Classic, Wells Fargo Center, NBCSN+
Penn vs. Drexel, 2 pm
Villanova vs. Temple, 4:30 pm
Saint Joseph’s vs. La Salle, 7 pm
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Aaron Bracy has been covering Philadelphia sports since 1996. His byline regularly appears on Associated Press stories. Follow Bracy on X: @Aaron_Bracy and like his Facebook and Instagram pages. His book on the 2003-04 Saint Joseph’s men’s basketball team is expected to be published on March 1, 2025. Read a summary and preorder it by clicking HERE. Contact him at aaron@big5hoops.com.