Breathing fire

I am terrible at sports predictions. I was among the bottom few in Prognostiquakers, have never won my fantasy football league and took Pitt in the Final 4 last year.

So it's clear that I don't make too many bold predictions these days. However, when Drexel matched up with Syracuse, I almost guaranteed the 8-point underdogs would win at the Carrier Dome. I told everyone, and for once I was right. Frank Elegar dropped 27 and 10 on the No. 23 Orange, while point guard Bashir Mason had five assists, five steals and no turnovers. Drexel was down 10 in the second half, but rallied for the 84-79 win.

Even drexeldragons.com used 'stunned' in the headline, but I saw it coming. Drexel is the best team in Philly, and barring a shocker on Tobacco Road, will have provided Penn its best win of the year. The 7-2 Dragons don't get the opportunity to play many quality opponents, but when they have had the opportunity, they have taken advantage of it. After losses to Penn (68-49) and Rider (89-81, OT), the Dragons have won five straight, including wins over St. Joe's, at Villanova and at No. 23 Syracuse - the latter two have accounted for half of the Quakers' losses.

What does all this mean? Drexel is ninth in the RPI according to cbssportsline.com, and with a win over Temple this weekend should definitely become a top 25 team.