It's the first of March, Selection Sunday is less than two weeks away, and this Saturday marks the last weekend of the regular season for college basketball. I decided to step outside the Madness that will be the rest of this month and reflect on what makes college basketball so special--I mean the more I watch, the more it becomes my favorite sport. Don't get me wrong I love my professional sports just as much as the next guy, but college basketball captures my attention more than any other. On Sunday April 8 I probably won't plan on sitting down to watch the Chicago White Sox take on the Texas Rangers--no matter how much I love baseball. On any given Tuesday night I will sit down to watch whatever collection of games happen to be on ESPN that night.
I love college basketball because out of all the sports it is unique. Every game means something--in fact, one game can decide if you are in or out of the NCAA field. Even with games of such magnitude, it is different from NCAA football--one loss does not disqualify you from the championship (unless you play your football in the SEC in which case you get two losses). There are no series like baseball, unless you count the home-and-home some conference teams play. And unlike the NBA or NHL your fate ends up being decided by one game, not how you play in four out of seven. I know you get, I like college basketball, but here's five reasons you should too.
Courtesy of Penn Athletics
This week's rankings were the hardest for me to formulate. Temple lost for the first time in 11 games, and despite being the most talented team in the city deserved to lose its top spot. The big question is what to do about Drexel? The lack the quality wins and RPI numbers that St. Joe's possesses, but it is impossible to ignore Drexel's resume. To the potential dismay of Hawk fans, I'm placing Drexel number one in the city.
1. Drexel Dragons (25-5) LW: 2
Drexel has won 17 games in a row and 23 of their last 24 contests. They have won outright the Colonial Title and have passed the 'eye-test' of many analysts. If Drexel fails to win the CAA Tournament and do not find themselves in the tournament come Selection Sunday I am calling shenanigans. It was too difficult for me to place Drexel lower in the rankings without them losing.
The college basketball regular season is in the home stretch—we are less than three weeks away from Selection Sunday. For the city of Philadelphia a pair of crucial Big 5 and A-10 games looms large this week as Temple visits La Salle on Wednesday and St. Joe’s on Saturday. All three of these teams are in contention for a 4th place or better finish in conference play, which would guarantee them a trip to Atlantic City (remember that the A-10 has switched the conference tournament format with first round games now being at the site of the higher seed). Look for a preview of tomorrow’s La Salle-Temple game right here on Whizwitsports.
Bleacher Report
Dragons still cruising
Drexel got a much needed win on Saturday visiting fellow mid-major, Cleveland State. Unfortunately for Drexel all of the remaining doubters will point to the fact that the Vikings had lost 3 in a row heading into the BracketBuster game. According to kenpom.com rankings, Drexel is currently behind both Temple and La Salle—despite winning 15 in a row. It seems that no matter how many games the Dragons win they continue to move backwards in the rankings. Hopefully for Drexel fans, the team will win the CAA conference tournament to take the suspense (and possible disappointment) out of Selection Sunday.
College Basketball in the city of Philadelphia got underway last night with 4 of the 5 Big 5 teams in action. Look for more Big 5 previews before each match up between city rivals, starting on Monday with Penn vs. Temple
La Salle got off to a fast start last night defeating the Lafayette Leopards 79-53. Sophomore guard, and Philly home-grown talent, Tyreek Duran led all scorers with 17 points coupled with 6 assists. The Leopards were held to 35% shooting from the field. More here...St. Joe's was on the road last night seeking revenge from last years opening loss, visiting the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. The Hawks were paced by standout guards Langston Galloway and Carl Jones (19 and 16 points) en route to a 72-61 victory. The Hawks had 5 players in double figures. More
here...Villanova hosted Monmouth in a game that was never in doubt, defeating the Hawks 106-70. Nova was paced by Dominic Cheek (27 points) and Mouptaou Yarou (24 points), both establishing new career highs. The Wildcats shot 48% from beyond the arc. More here...The Penn Quakers visited UMBC and came away with a hard fought 59-45 victory. Zack Rosen scored 26 points, 4 shy of his career high. UMBC committed 20 turnovers and shot 0-11 from 3-point range. More
here...Big 5 actions kicks off early next week with Temple visiting the Palestra to square off against the Quakers on Monday and Villanova hosting La Salle on Tuesday.
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