Big 5 Classic Set for Saturday Afternoon
- Adam Mack
- 20 hours ago
- 4 min read
It is that time of year again. The Toyota Big 5 Classic is returning to the Xfinity Mobile Arena Saturday afternoon, for a tripleheader of games. This year, the championship will feature Penn and Villanova, both of whom are looking for their 1st Big 5 Classic Championship. Saint Joesph's will take on Temple in the 3rd place game, while La Salle and Drexel will lead off in the 5th place game.
This year AAT Sports will have full coverage of all 3 games. Check out below for a preview of each game as well as how each team got here.
Pod Play
Up until 2022, each of the five schools would play a round robin tournament. With the team with the best record in Big 5 play being crowned the champion. In 2023, it was annoucned that Drexel is going to be added as the 6th member of the Big 5 (maybe time for a name change.) With the addition of Drexel, administrators changed the format.
The six schools are divided into 2 pods of 3, and each pod will play a round robin, with each team playing at least one home game. The schools with the best record from each pod would advance to the championship game.
This year's pod play results
Pod 1
Temple 63
La Salle 90
Villanova 70
La Salle 55
Temple 56
Villanova 74
Pod 2
Drexel 65
Saint Joesph's 76
Saint Joesph's 74
Penn 83
Penn 84
Drexel 68
Drexel vs. La Salle Preview
The 5th place will feature the Drexel Dragons and the La Salle Explorers.
La Salle has had a rocky start to the Darris Nichols era. They are currently 3-6 and find themselves in the 5th place game. The best basketball La Salle has played has come against Penn at the Cathedral Classic. At one point they led the game as much as 15 points. However, their lack of 3 point shooting caught up to them when Penn switched to a zone defense and La Salle struggled to breakthough their defense. Jaedan Marshall is having a career year, as he is having his best year for scoring, assists and steals.
Drexel may be a little bit of an unknown this year. They are currently 4-5 on the year. They didn't fair well in either of their Big 5 games against Penn or Saint Joesph's, but they have some nice wins against Old Dominion and Morgan State. Shane Blakeney has made an instant impact for the Dragons in his 1st year in the starting rotation. He leads the team in scoring and steals, while being 2nd in rebounds and assists.
Temple vs Saint Joesph's Preview
The Temple Owls will take on the Saint Joesph's Hawks in the 3rd place game. Saint Joesph's.
Temple had a dominating victory over La Salle and a lopsided loss to Villanova to secure their spot in the 3rd place game once again. Head coach Adam Fisher has found himself two studs in Aiden Tobiason and Derrian Ford. Derrain Ford is one of the best offensive players in the Big 5 this year. Making plays with his shooting and his passing. While Tobiason has been great offensively, he has been the leader defensively for the Owls.
Saint Joesph's held off Princeton at the buzzer in their last game. Deuce Jones II has been great for the Hawks. Currently leading the team in scoring with 17 ppg, with 4 rebounds, and 3 assists a game. His defense has helped elevate the team's defense.
Everyone should be really excited to watch Derrain Ford and Deuce Jones II sqaure off on Saturday. You have one of the best shooters in the Big 5 in Ford and one of the best defensive guards in the Big 5 in Jones. The key to the game for either team will to win this battle.
Penn vs Villanova Preview
The Big 5 Championship will come down to Penn vs Villanova. Both teams are making their 1st appearance in the Big 5 Classic Championship Game.
Penn is coming off the Cathedral Classic where they went 2-1, which included a victory over Big 5 foe La Salle. In that game, former Virginia and Duke player TJ Power scored 19 points in the 2nd half to defeat La Salle 73-71. Ethan Roberts at one point was 3rd in college basketball in scoring. Even though he has cooled down, he is still averaging over 20 points per game. Penn typically runs their defense out of man. However, a 2nd half switch to zone over La Salle helped with their comeback victory.
Villanova clinched their spot in Saurday's championship after a dominating victory over Temple on Monday night. Villanova has had a resurgence back into the limelight under 1st year head coach Kevin Willard. With a brand new team in 2025-26, Villanova had a lot of question marks on their team. Those questions have all been answered. Two players to highlight for Temple are Bryce Lindsay and Duke Brennan. Coming into Saturday's game, Brennan is currently averaging a double-double and leads the country in rebounds. While Lindsay leads the Wildcats with 18 points per game.
This match-up may seem like David vs Goliath, but you can never count anyone out in a championship game, let a lone the Big 5 Championship. Fran McCaffery has grown up in the Big 5 and understands the significance of this game. Penn's duo of TJ Power and Ethan Roberts can compete with any duo of Villanova. The depth of Villanova will be key if they want to re-claim the Big 5 title.
All 3 games will be aired on NBC Sports Philadelphia + and on Peacock. Make sure to follow @AdamMack8727 on X and AAT Sports for live coverage of each game!