Temple-Villanova, Drexel-St. Joe's round out day of games

It is hard to believe that the Big 5 Classic is only in its fourth year. For a city as steeped in sports tradition as Philadelphia, it is the sort of thing that one would expect to be a regular occurrence over the Big 5's 50-year history.

Yet this is only the fourth time that all six of the area's Division I teams will take to the Palestra floor on the same day. Which explains, at least in part, why it is such a special occasion.

"I think that it's very special, in terms of its having something which is quite different from anybody else," Temple coach John Chaney said. His Owls will face Villanova at 3:30 p.m. in what is arguably the day's marquee game.

Drexel coach Bruiser Flint -- whose team is not a member of the Big 5 but has been accorded a sort of unofficial entry into the city series -- argued that this is something that cannot be replicated anywhere else in the country.

"They might be able to do it," he said, "but to have all the teams from the same city, and to be able to agree to play in one day, makes it a little more special than most."

Drexel will play Saint Joseph's in the tripleheader's nightcap at 8 p.m. The game has the potential to be either a debutante party for the veteran-laden Dragons, or a notice that the Hawks have not fallen too far after losing their stars from last year's team that went to the Elite Eight.

In sizing up his opposition, Flint called the Hawks' 91-51 defeat at No. 2 Kansas "a tough loss, but last week they got back to playing defensively against Davidson," which St. Joe's beat, 76-61.

"They still play hard defense, and are hustling, and are scrapping to get loose balls and such," Flint added.

Because of his team's hectic early season, St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli has not had a lot of time to look at tape of Drexel's games. His planning was further affected when star Dragons forward Sean Brooks suffered a foot injury against Rider last Saturday.

"I've got to look real hard at the Rider game, because it's a different team than it was against Penn," Martelli said.

Without Brooks, the spotlight will shine on what should be an outstanding matchup between both teams' backcourt stars -- speedy Phil Goss, Jeremiah King and Kenell Sanchez for Drexel and sharpshooting Pat Carroll and Chet Stachitas for St. Joe's.

King might not see much time, however, according to Flint. He twisted his ankle in the Dragons' 81-50 loss to Penn, and reinjured it in a 78-67 win at Lafayette on Tuesday night.

"We don't know whether or not he's going to be able to play on Saturday," Flint said. He added that his matchups would probably be "Goss on Carroll; if King is able to play he'll guard Stachitas, and if not I'll play Goss on Stachitas and Kenell Sanchez on Carroll."

When Temple and Villanova last met, they did so under rather contentious circumstances.

Because the Wildcats agreed to play in the Maui Invitational last season, the two rivals had to reschedule their game so that Villanova could fly to Hawaii with enough time to prepare for its first game against host Chaminade.

Temple insisted that the game be played at the Liacouras Center as originally scheduled, because the Owls had never hosted the Wildcats since 1999.

After a few weeks of heated negotiations, which almost saw the game called off, Penn coach Fran Dunphy invited both parties to his house to get the matter settled.

It was, and the two teams agreed to play at 12:01 a.m. on the first day of the regular season -- literally the earliest possible time that a game could take place.

Chaney said that he has put the matter fully behind him.

"That was then and this is now," he said. "I've learned to do that from being involved in sports -- you just can't carry on with what happened yesterday, and you have to be a part of what's happening now."

Villanova coach Jay Wright could not be reached for comment.

This year, the Temple game will be the Wildcats' second of the season. Their first was on Nov. 23, when they beat Maryland-Baltimore County, 66-41, at the Pavilion.

Villanova's guards are extremely talented, and are a major reason why the city series title is expected to end up on the Main Line this year.

Villanova juniors Randy Foye and Allan Ray are the primary backcourt stars, and combined for 39 points against the Retrievers. Sophomore Mike Nardi, who scored 20 points against Penn at the Palestra last season, has been a spark both in the starting lineup and coming off the bench.

But the Wildcats' fortunes will likely ride most on their frontcourt of juniors: Jason Fraser, Will Sheridan and Curtis Sumpter. Fraser suffered a knee injury before the start of the season but played 12 minutes against UMBC and will likely see more minutes tomorrow.

Chaney described the Wildcats as "a much better team than what they were last year."

"We are going to be facing a great opponent in my opinion, and a team that should be ranked sooner or later."

Temple's early-season form has not been as good as many have hoped it would be. The Owls have shot only 34.8 percent from the field and 30.3 percent from three-point range.

Then again, Chaney's team has a history of resembling something like what you'd find at the butcher's stands in Reading Terminal Market early in the season. A main reason for that is the team's youth -- most of the team's stars are juniors and sophomores, and three of the guards in the main rotation are freshmen.

"Half of our team is very new and very young," Chaney said. "So we're going to have to learn a lot as we go. But in order for us to win, we are certainly going to have to shoot the ball very well."

Temple also plays one of the most difficult out-of-conference schedules in the nation. Although the Owls have games against No. 22 Alabama, Princeton and current No. 1 Wake Forest before the end of the calendar year, as well as games against No. 10 Duke and No. 12 Maryland in January, Chaney would not characterize even the Villanova game as easy.

"I don't think any game is easy for us, no way," he said. "Hopefully by January some time, our team is going to be better, but right now we are going to struggle with everybody we play."

But for now, the focus is on Philadelphia's shrine to college basketball, and all who will be inside it tomorrow know they will be part of yet another special occasion in the Palestra's celebrated history.

NOTES: A limited number of tickets remain for the afternoon doubleheader, and those tickets are good for both the Penn-La Salle and Temple-Villanova games. The Drexel-Saint Joseph's game is on a separate ticket, and is not sold out either. Tickets for all the games can be purchased at the Franklin Field box office.

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