On Saturday, Penn men’s basketball will take on Villanova at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in the championship game of the Toyota Men’s Big 5 Classic. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Members of The Daily Pennsylvanian sent in their predictions for the title game.
Villanova wins: Conor Smith — deputy DP Sports editor
I did not think Penn would beat Saint Joseph’s. I was wrong. I walked down 33rd Street to Drexel expecting a Penn loss. I was wrong. I do not expect to be wrong for a third time. Villanova is going to beat Penn on Saturday by double digits.
The Wildcats are coming off an impressive win against Temple, where they went on a 15-2 second half run to skirt past the Owls. New coach Kevin Willard’s team may be a few years out from competing for the Big East again, but the Wildcats look like they have a blossoming star in Villanova guard Acaden Lewis.
Alongside Lewis, two more Villanova guards are bound to give Penn coach Fran McCaffery a migraine this Saturday: Bryce Lindsay and former Quaker Tyler Perkins. I expect freshman guard Jay Jones, a lengthy 6-foot-4 player, to play a lot on Saturday to slow down Villanova’s impressive backcourt. Against La Salle on Saturday, Jones played the majority of the second half, and his defense was a major factor as to why Penn beat the Explorers.
For Penn to win, it will have to control the pace of the game, forcing Villanova to play as fast as the Quakers do. The Quakers are averaging 72.7 possessions per game to the Wildcats’ 67.5. If they can speed up Villanova, leading to turnovers and mistakes, Penn has a shot.
Penn wins: Kaia Feichtinger-Erhart — DP Sports reporter
Is it unlikely? Yes, of course.
Penn has only beaten the Wildcats four times in 25 total matchups. Only two of those wins have come in the last 23 years. Penn finished last year’s Big 5 Classic at the bottom of the standings, but this is the Quakers’ first time in a Big 5 Classic championship game in its current format, and it might as well lead to glory.
After all, Penn has recently shown that Villanova is not unbeatable in Big 5 games. The last time the Wildcats had to travel to a matchup with Penn was two years ago, when they were defeated 76-72 in the Palestra. The likes of senior guard Cam Thrower and junior forward Augustus Gerhart certainly still remember what it feels like to send Villanova home in defeat.
On neutral ground this Saturday, the Quakers will get their first big chance to prove themselves under McCaffery’s helm. Who knows? Maybe Penn basketball will gift a very early Christmas gift to help students through the last weeks of the semester.
Villanova wins: Javier St. Remy — DP Sports associate
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Villanova is far and away the toughest opponent that the Quakers will face this season. The Wildcats boast a 6-1 record with their only loss coming against top-10 ranked BYU in their first game of the season. The Wildcats have since won six-straight games, posting an average margin of victory of 18.5 points.
The Quakers are coming off of a disappointing double-digit Cathedral Classic loss to Hofstra in which the Red and Blue were limited to a mere 32.3% shooting accuracy from the floor. Penn also narrowly defeated La Salle — a team the Wildcats trounced by 15.
With that being said, the Quakers will not be eviscerated as they were in last season’s 44-point blowout loss. The Quakers are a much better team this season, having won four of their last five games. Additionally, with last season’s NCAA Division-I leading scorer and former Villanova power forward Eric Dixon having graduated, this matchup should be far less lopsided.
I do expect this game to be competitive for the majority of the first half. The Wildcats’ strong talent and momentum going into this game make this their championship to lose.
Villanova wins: Cavance Snaith — DP Sports reporter
The Wildcats are entering the Big 5 Classic championship on a six-game winning streak. The Quakers are entering this game with a statistically competitive matchup.
Senior guard/forward Ethan Roberts is leading the Quakers in points and steals per game with an average of 20.3 and 1.5 respectively, which is on par with Villanova’s leaders. Although Penn is entering the game with competitive statistics, Villanova has played more challenging teams compared to the Quakers. For example, Villanova lost by less than 10 points when it played against No. 9 BYU.
On the other hand, when Penn played Providence, another Big East program, it lost by more than 20 points. In terms of the Big 5, Penn defeated La Salle by a mere two points, whereas Villanova defeated La Salle by 15 points. With Villanova performing better against better teams, I unfortunately believe that the Red and Blue will lose the Big 5 Classic championship game.
At least Penn will be the best team in Philadelphia proper, and we have the right to call ourselves a Philadelphia school, which — as a Philadelphia native — I think Villanova cannot.
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