Sunday, January 07, 2007
Big 5 - Midseason Report
As the Big 5 teams near their midpoint of the season and have either started or are getting ready to start their conferance games, I figured now would be a good time to look at each five teams individually.
Villanova - Coach Jay Wright's squad lost key players Randy Foye, Kyle Lowry, and Allan Ray who are all performing in the NBA now. Currently they are 10-4 overall but 0-2 in the Big East. They started off the season with a win over Rollie Massimino's Northwood University squad. The Wildcats are 3-0 in Big 5 play with wins over Penn (99-89), LaSalle (64-51), and Temple (83-65). They also have a nonconferance win at Oklahoma but lost to Philly team, Drexel (81-76). Fifth year senior, Curtis Sumpter, leads Villanova with 19.4 points per game and is also pulling down 6.8 rebounds per game. Guard Mike Nardi is also performing well with a 14.4 average. Heralded freshman, Scott Reynolds, is third on the team in scoring averaging 9.2 ppg. Upcoming games include: 1/20 vs. Texas at the Wachovia Center, 2/6 vs. St Joes (for the Big 5 championship), 3/3 vs. Syracuse (Big East finale).
Temple - First year coach, Fran Dunphy, has endured some struggles in North Philly. They stand at 6-7 overall but 0-1 in Atlantic 10 play. They are currently on a three game losing streak including a 83-65 loss to Villanova and a 73-55 loss to Coach K and Duke. They have also lost to Drexel 69-54 but have beaten Big East school, Rutgers, 77-54. Dionte Christmas leads the Owls in scoring with a 19.8 average with Dustin Salisbury playing second fiddle with a 16.7 average and pulling down 5.3 boards per game. Salisbury played in the neighboring school district where I graduated. Quite a high school player. They have some upcoming tests against Big 5 teams. They include 1/10 vs. St. Joes, 1/24 vs. Penn, 2/4 vs. LaSalle, 2/14 vs. LaSalle, and finally 2/22 vs. St. Joes. They have a lot of winning to do if they want to make the Big Dance in March. It will probably require winning the Atlantic 10 championship.
St. Joes- Phil Martelli's team is 8-5 overall with a perfect 1-0 record in Atlantic 10 play. They have been lead by do it all sophomore forward, Ahmad Nivins. Check out I've Made a Huge Tiny Mistake. It is posted under Philly Sports on Dec. 30. He is currently averaging 15.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. They had a big nonconferance win against Big Dance cinderella team, Bucknell (63-53). They have also lost to Drexel (72-56) and Big East competitor, Louisville (74-64). They have upcoming tests against Big 5 opponents including 1/10 vs. Temple, 1/27 vs. Penn, 2/6 vs. Villanova, 2/10 vs. LaSalle, and 2/22 vs. Temple.
Penn - First year coach, Glen Miller, leads this perenial Ivy League contender. They have yet to start conferance play but stand at 7-6 overall. Miller comes from seven years at Brown University where he turned around a terrible basketball program. He does not have nearly that tough of a job at Penn where all he has to do is keep the winning going. This is the only Big 5 team to beat Drexel doing so by a 68-49 margin. They have lost to Big East teams, Syracuse and Villanova, as well at North Carolina. The Quakers are led by two seniors. Forward Mark Zoller is averaging 19.2 points and 8 rebounds per game. Guard Ibrahim Jaaber is averaging 16 ppg. Upcoming games include 1/18 vs. LaSalle, 1/24 vs. Temple, and 1/27 vs. St. Joes.
LaSalle - This is a very young team being led by a freshman and a junior. They have struggled early going 6-8 overall and 0-2 in the Atlantic 10. They have a loss to Villanova and one to UMASS. Junior guard, Darnell Harris is averaging 14.2 ppg while sidekick freshman guard, Rodney Green, is averaging 13.1 ppg. They have four more games against Big 5 opponents including 3 games in 10 days. The games are 1/18 vs. Penn, 2/10 vs. St. Joes, and 2/14 vs. Temple.
Villanova - Coach Jay Wright's squad lost key players Randy Foye, Kyle Lowry, and Allan Ray who are all performing in the NBA now. Currently they are 10-4 overall but 0-2 in the Big East. They started off the season with a win over Rollie Massimino's Northwood University squad. The Wildcats are 3-0 in Big 5 play with wins over Penn (99-89), LaSalle (64-51), and Temple (83-65). They also have a nonconferance win at Oklahoma but lost to Philly team, Drexel (81-76). Fifth year senior, Curtis Sumpter, leads Villanova with 19.4 points per game and is also pulling down 6.8 rebounds per game. Guard Mike Nardi is also performing well with a 14.4 average. Heralded freshman, Scott Reynolds, is third on the team in scoring averaging 9.2 ppg. Upcoming games include: 1/20 vs. Texas at the Wachovia Center, 2/6 vs. St Joes (for the Big 5 championship), 3/3 vs. Syracuse (Big East finale).
Temple - First year coach, Fran Dunphy, has endured some struggles in North Philly. They stand at 6-7 overall but 0-1 in Atlantic 10 play. They are currently on a three game losing streak including a 83-65 loss to Villanova and a 73-55 loss to Coach K and Duke. They have also lost to Drexel 69-54 but have beaten Big East school, Rutgers, 77-54. Dionte Christmas leads the Owls in scoring with a 19.8 average with Dustin Salisbury playing second fiddle with a 16.7 average and pulling down 5.3 boards per game. Salisbury played in the neighboring school district where I graduated. Quite a high school player. They have some upcoming tests against Big 5 teams. They include 1/10 vs. St. Joes, 1/24 vs. Penn, 2/4 vs. LaSalle, 2/14 vs. LaSalle, and finally 2/22 vs. St. Joes. They have a lot of winning to do if they want to make the Big Dance in March. It will probably require winning the Atlantic 10 championship.
St. Joes- Phil Martelli's team is 8-5 overall with a perfect 1-0 record in Atlantic 10 play. They have been lead by do it all sophomore forward, Ahmad Nivins. Check out I've Made a Huge Tiny Mistake. It is posted under Philly Sports on Dec. 30. He is currently averaging 15.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. They had a big nonconferance win against Big Dance cinderella team, Bucknell (63-53). They have also lost to Drexel (72-56) and Big East competitor, Louisville (74-64). They have upcoming tests against Big 5 opponents including 1/10 vs. Temple, 1/27 vs. Penn, 2/6 vs. Villanova, 2/10 vs. LaSalle, and 2/22 vs. Temple.
Penn - First year coach, Glen Miller, leads this perenial Ivy League contender. They have yet to start conferance play but stand at 7-6 overall. Miller comes from seven years at Brown University where he turned around a terrible basketball program. He does not have nearly that tough of a job at Penn where all he has to do is keep the winning going. This is the only Big 5 team to beat Drexel doing so by a 68-49 margin. They have lost to Big East teams, Syracuse and Villanova, as well at North Carolina. The Quakers are led by two seniors. Forward Mark Zoller is averaging 19.2 points and 8 rebounds per game. Guard Ibrahim Jaaber is averaging 16 ppg. Upcoming games include 1/18 vs. LaSalle, 1/24 vs. Temple, and 1/27 vs. St. Joes.
LaSalle - This is a very young team being led by a freshman and a junior. They have struggled early going 6-8 overall and 0-2 in the Atlantic 10. They have a loss to Villanova and one to UMASS. Junior guard, Darnell Harris is averaging 14.2 ppg while sidekick freshman guard, Rodney Green, is averaging 13.1 ppg. They have four more games against Big 5 opponents including 3 games in 10 days. The games are 1/18 vs. Penn, 2/10 vs. St. Joes, and 2/14 vs. Temple.
Labels: Big Five
