Side Note: For those of you who noticed we haven’t written an actual post about the rankings for the past two weeks, we thank you for your attention to detail.
Rank (Record; Previous Ranking)
6. Drexel (2-8; 5)
Since we last took the time to write a full post detailing our City 6 Rankings, the Drexel Dragons have gone into a downward spiral. The Dragons, who we had ranked fifth three weeks ago, find themselves firmly planted in the six spot in this week’s rankings.
The Dragons currently find themselves on a four-game losing streak, which was kicked off by a buzzer-beater loss to Division II University of the Sciences. To say Bruiser Flint’s squad is struggling would be an understatement.
Drexel’s next game won’t come until a week from now, when they host a 6-4 Iona squad. The Dragons may have been hit hard by injuries, but they still have lost quite a few games they shouldn’t have.
5. Penn (3-5; 6)
The Quakers have moved out of the cellar and find themselves firmly in the number five spot this week on the strength of three straight wins. All three of those wins came against sub-par teams (Navy, Binghamton & Marist), but Penn still jumps Drexel this week given the Dragons struggles.
4. La Salle (6-5; 2)
The Explorers fall two spots to number four in this week’s rankings after going 2-3 over the previous three weeks. La Salle played admirably against a stacked Villanova squad, losing by only 14, but have picked up a one-point loss to Temple and an overtime loss to American since then.
La Salle did top a decent Towson squad by 14 points yesterday and have the potential to string together a decent season, but will need to be on their game when A-10 play begins in January.
3. Temple (7-4; 3)
The Owls stay put at number three in this week’s rankings, but with Jesse Morgan and Devin Coleman now eligible could look a bit different in the coming weeks.
Morgan, a senior who transferred from UMass and has one semester of eligibility left, and Coleman, a junior transfer from Clemson, should provide solid help on offense, which the Owls could use.
Temple hosts #10 Kansas at the Wells Fargo Center on Monday, which could be rough for the Owls, but having Morgan and Coleman definitely won’t hurt their chances of pulling off an upset.
2. Saint Joseph’s (6-4; 4)
Since being routed by Villanova a few weeks back, the Hawks have strung together two straight wins. While both those wins came against subpar teams, Saint Joseph’s did beat Temple a few weeks back (albeit with home court advantage), and as a result jump two spots to number two in this week’s rankings.
Saint Joseph’s has one last nonconference game on the road against Denver before opening A-10 play, which should let us know where this young Hawks squad truly stands.
1. Villanova (11-0; 1)
Plain and simple, Villanova is on a completely different level than the rest of the City 6 this season (and that level is about 75 levels higher than the one the next closest team is on). Basically, the Wildcats are like a well-trained Charizard and the rest of the teams in the city are Magikarp just splashing around.
Villanova was put to the test on Saturday against Syracuse, when they fell behind by as much as 15 points in the first half. The Wildcats showed great poise in their comeback, scoring five points in the final 17 seconds of the game to force overtime, where they would top the Orange.
Performances like Saturday’s prove this year’s Villanova squad belongs in the conversation as one of the nation’s top teams. With their talent and depth, there is no reason to think Villanova couldn’t make some noise in this year’s tournament.
By: Kyle Babcock
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