Some movement around the middle of the rankings this week, as La Salle, Temple and Drexel all struggled a bit, but make no mistake over who the top team in the city is. Let's get started.
6. Penn (2-7)
Playing for the first time in 15 days this afternoon, the Quakers looked awfully rusty, especially in the first half. While Penn improved their play in the second half they still lost by 14 to a 3-9 Marist team. At 2-7 for the season, the Quakers are quickly sinking and thus remain sixth in this week's rankings.
5. La Salle (6-6)
La Salle looked vastly improved in their rout of Wagner earlier this week, as the Explorers were finally making some deep shots to spread the court and give the big men room to operate down low. That all went down the drain when they were beat by Miami this afternoon. The Hurricanes are a solid team, but La Salle fell right back into the flat play that has plagued them much of the season.
After a 1-1 week the Explorers fall one spot to #5 in this week's rankings. The season is moving quickly, La Salle better get things together sooner rather than later.
4. Temple (5-5)
Temple dropped a contest midweek to a 3-7 Texas Southern squad. Philadelphia-native Aaric Murray put up 48 points for the Tigers, and the Owls played little defense in the game. Temple lost by one and almost won on a shot that was made just after the buzzer, but they did not deserve to win this game. While the Owls did respond with a rout of LIU Brooklyn on Saturday, they have still been inconsistent so far this season.
After one bad loss and a win over a bad team this week, the Owls drop one spot to fourth in this week's rankings.
3. Drexel (8-3)
The Dragons had what would be considered by most to be their most disappointing week of the season so far. Drexel lost by 20 to City 6 rival Saint Joseph's midweek, as the Hawks blew the Dragons off the court in the second half. The Dragons followed that with an unimpressive win over St. Francis (PA) this afternoon, beating the 2-9 Red Flash by just 10 points.
While they have the second best record among City 6 schools, losing by that much to Saint Joseph's drops them one spot in the rankings to # 3 this week.
2. Saint Joseph’s (6-4)
The Hawks capitalize on the down week from Drexel, Temple and La Salle, catapulting from #5 in last week's rankings all the way to #2 in this week's edition. Saint Joseph's beat Drexel in a rout earlier in the week and then topped Loyola (MD) on Saturday. The Hawks put up 60 points in the first half against Loyola, and while they did struggle mightily in the second half and let the game get way too close for comfort, they still showed their offensive firepower.
Most importantly, the Hawks actually received some contribution from their bench against Loyola, which is something they desperately need more often.
1. Villanova (11-0)
If you follow college basketball even slightly, then it is no surprise to you that Villanova remains atop of the rankings yet again this week. Ranked 8th nationally, the Wildcats won their only game this week over Rider in blowout fashion, allowing their walk-ons to see some minutes yet again.
The Wildcats are off to their best start since the 1961-62 squad began the season 12-0. Next up for Villanova will be #2 Syracuse and I'm going on the record now saying don't be surprised if the Wildcats win that game on the road. They will need to pull Syracuse out of the zone if they want to win, but with a variety of sharp shooters, the Wildcats are poised to do just that.
No one in the city is in the same league as Villanova currently, so the Wildcats remain atop the rankings and have quite a bit of distance between themselves and the next City 6 team.
By: Kyle Babcock
Follow us on Twitter: @BroadStBeat
Playing for the first time in 15 days this afternoon, the Quakers looked awfully rusty, especially in the first half. While Penn improved their play in the second half they still lost by 14 to a 3-9 Marist team. At 2-7 for the season, the Quakers are quickly sinking and thus remain sixth in this week's rankings.
5. La Salle (6-6)
La Salle looked vastly improved in their rout of Wagner earlier this week, as the Explorers were finally making some deep shots to spread the court and give the big men room to operate down low. That all went down the drain when they were beat by Miami this afternoon. The Hurricanes are a solid team, but La Salle fell right back into the flat play that has plagued them much of the season.
After a 1-1 week the Explorers fall one spot to #5 in this week's rankings. The season is moving quickly, La Salle better get things together sooner rather than later.
4. Temple (5-5)
Temple dropped a contest midweek to a 3-7 Texas Southern squad. Philadelphia-native Aaric Murray put up 48 points for the Tigers, and the Owls played little defense in the game. Temple lost by one and almost won on a shot that was made just after the buzzer, but they did not deserve to win this game. While the Owls did respond with a rout of LIU Brooklyn on Saturday, they have still been inconsistent so far this season.
After one bad loss and a win over a bad team this week, the Owls drop one spot to fourth in this week's rankings.
3. Drexel (8-3)
The Dragons had what would be considered by most to be their most disappointing week of the season so far. Drexel lost by 20 to City 6 rival Saint Joseph's midweek, as the Hawks blew the Dragons off the court in the second half. The Dragons followed that with an unimpressive win over St. Francis (PA) this afternoon, beating the 2-9 Red Flash by just 10 points.
While they have the second best record among City 6 schools, losing by that much to Saint Joseph's drops them one spot in the rankings to # 3 this week.
2. Saint Joseph’s (6-4)
The Hawks capitalize on the down week from Drexel, Temple and La Salle, catapulting from #5 in last week's rankings all the way to #2 in this week's edition. Saint Joseph's beat Drexel in a rout earlier in the week and then topped Loyola (MD) on Saturday. The Hawks put up 60 points in the first half against Loyola, and while they did struggle mightily in the second half and let the game get way too close for comfort, they still showed their offensive firepower.
Most importantly, the Hawks actually received some contribution from their bench against Loyola, which is something they desperately need more often.
1. Villanova (11-0)
If you follow college basketball even slightly, then it is no surprise to you that Villanova remains atop of the rankings yet again this week. Ranked 8th nationally, the Wildcats won their only game this week over Rider in blowout fashion, allowing their walk-ons to see some minutes yet again.
The Wildcats are off to their best start since the 1961-62 squad began the season 12-0. Next up for Villanova will be #2 Syracuse and I'm going on the record now saying don't be surprised if the Wildcats win that game on the road. They will need to pull Syracuse out of the zone if they want to win, but with a variety of sharp shooters, the Wildcats are poised to do just that.
No one in the city is in the same league as Villanova currently, so the Wildcats remain atop the rankings and have quite a bit of distance between themselves and the next City 6 team.
By: Kyle Babcock
Follow us on Twitter: @BroadStBeat
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