So, the Villanova men and women are going dancing. Will any of the other 10 teams in the Big 5 join them?
It's not likely, but there are some contenders: www.inquirer.com/college-spor...
Malachi Palmer played 19 of the 20 second-half minutes. Villanova’s defense dominated. The upperclassmen took over in the second half.
More from the penultimate regular season game: www.inquirer.com/college-spor...
I’ve been waiting a long time for this from Mike Sielski, and it does not disappoint.
What happened to the Big 5? The decline of Philly basketball’s one-time legendary alliance began a long time ago. www.inquirer.com/college-spor... via @phillysport.bsky.social @inquirer.com
Final: Villanova 76, DePaul 57. Dominant second half (50-33) for Villanova behind big nights from Tyler Perkins, Duke Brennan, and Devin Askew.
Wildcats are 23-7, 14-5 in the Big East, and finish their regular season at home Saturday vs. Xavier.
This is turning into a rout. Villanova is on a 12-2 run and leads by 17 with 7:55 to go. The defense has been swarming. DePaul has 14 turnovers and Villanova has an 18-7 advantage in points off turns.
Getting decent looks hasn't been a problem so far for Villanova. Making shots has.
Zion Stanford is not with Villanova in Chicago, sources say. He is listed as out on the availability report. Stanford practiced with the team yesterday, according to sources, but did not travel for the game.
Matt Hodge’s injury has short- and long-term implications for Villanova. Talked to Kevin Willard about them this morning.
Who starts (it’s the obvious answer)? What do the rotations look like? What about next year?
More here: www.inquirer.com/college-spor...
Christian Kirk, Jake Tonges, Trey Pipkins III, and more: Who could the Eagles be in the market for in free agency to fill some holes on offense? www.inquirer.com/eagles/nfl-f...
Story on Matt Hodge’s injury and the fallout: www.inquirer.com/college-spor...
Villanova’s Matt Hodge will miss the rest of the season after suffering a torn ACL, the school announced.
Big blow to the Wildcats, who don’t have a ton of frontcourt depth.
Temple's losing streak is now six. Two weeks ago the Owls were in the mix for the No. 2 seed and a bye to the AAC semis. Now, they're projected to be the No. 10 seed and would need to rattle off five wins in five days. Worse, there's a chance they miss to AAC tourney altogether.
“We’re going to move on. We have two more games left. Life happens, man.” - Kevin Willard after the worst Villanova loss since 1997.
It was over before halftime. Story from MSG: www.inquirer.com/college-spor...
Rick Pitino coached that Kentucky team.
It's late, so unless my eyes are lying to me, the 89-57 loss tonight was Villanova's largest margin of defeat since a 93-56 loss to Kentucky on Feb. 9, 1997.
Final: St. John’s 89, Villanova 57. It was over at halftime, and we’ll see what Kevin Willard has to offer on Matt Hodge’s status.
Wildcats are 22-7 (13-5), and are locked into the No. 3 seed in the Big East tournament. Regular season finishes with DePaul and Xavier this week.
Zuby Ejiofor bailed out an off-balance Bryce Lindsay three with a foul. Lindsay hits the easiest three points Villanova has come by.
It's 48-23 St. John's at halftime. Villanova had eight turnovers and shot 7-for-27 (25.9%) in the first half. 18-0 in points off turnovers. Woof.
St. John's is rolling. Just turned two Villanova turnovers into easy dunks, forcing Kevin Willard to call his second timeout. It's 30-14 St. John's with 8:51 until halftime. The Wildcats are up to seven turnovers and just don't have enough answers for the defensive pressure.
Hello from Madison Square Garden. Villanova’s last chance for a Quad 1 win during the regular season is tonight vs. St. John’s. It’s a white out, at least in the lower level.
My book on Philly Hoops, on how the city and region shaped the sport of basketball, is now available on pre-order from Temple University Press. Hit this link tupress.temple.edu/books/philly... and make sure you include the promo code (26BKF) for a 25-percent discount.
Seniors who never transferred are hard to come by in modern college basketball. Among Big 5 men’s teams, there’s only one.
Penn’s Cam Thrower is a unicorn of sorts: www.inquirer.com/college-spor...
On diapers, writing and baseball — from a new dad who can’t believe how lucky he is: open.substack.com/pub/colleges...
“I’ve never, ever played that bad until now,” Bryce Lindsay said. “It comes with the game. When you’re the No. 1 player on the scout, they’re going to try to take you away…”
Lindsay’s long slump appears to be over at just the right time for Villanova: www.inquirer.com/college-spor...
Final: Villanova 82, Butler 73. Bryce Lindsay scored 19 points for the first time in the new year.
It wasn’t pretty at times but the Wildcats took care of business. They’re 22-6, 13-4 in the Big East, and play what should be an angry St. John’s team Saturday night at MSG.
Devin Askew is taking over. A personal 8-0 run opened up what was a surprisingly tight game with Butler. It's 67-57 with 5:51 to go.
It was a rather ho hum first half for Villanova until the Wildcats blitzed Butler at the end of the half and Tyler Perkins beat the horn with a three.
It's 42-28 at halftime with Acaden Lewis (14), Bryce Lindsay (9), and Perkins (7) leading the way.
Also, Penn coach Fran McCaffery is here. His son, Jack, is a freshman at Butler and other son Connor is an assistant coach under Thad Matta.
My two beats collide: Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is in the house watching Villanova and Butler get loose at the Finneran Pavilion.
I’m not sure how much if at all that factors into it. Plus, Jags attendance was solid last season.
Eagles chances of a London game seemingly just increased a bit with Jacksonville, one of the Eagles' road opponents in 2026, announcing it will play two games there. The Washington Commanders, obviously a divisional opponent, will play in the other London game.
