The Guru Collegiate Report: Start Your Local Big Five Women’s Planning for the Front End of the Season

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

PHILADELPHIA - Though it’s only a few days from another local baseball Phillies Redoctober, here in Guru land it also means the annual personal Dreadoctober is setting in once more.

That’s when also the behind-the-scenes prep things get done such as building the master local/national collegiate schedule to guide day-to-day cover, attend media preview days, because of the lateness of the WNBA overall season conclusion caused by the break for the Olympics, it also means an overlap of the semifinals and finals to occur the next few weeks.

There’s also the prep function for running the women’s board of USBWA - the national collegiate basketball writers and sitting on the board of the Phila. Sportswriters Association planning the big dinner which will be Thursday, Jan. 16, over at the usual Doubletree at Hilton on Route 70 across the river in Cherry Hill in South Jersey. Tickets are on sale.

The colleges have their act together much earlier now in terms of playing dates, some even have their tip times ready.

So since this season could be even better than last winter - yes even without Caitlin Clark around at Iowa having graduated into the pros.

Off the local websites for starters here’s a composite team by team of the Big 5, which now has the Drexel women officially on board as they too migrate to the pod setup leading to the Women’s Classic, Friday, Dec. 6, at Villanova, the day before men’s Classic at the Wells Fargo Center.

We’ll be back with more detail as we get closer - not all the non-conference nights are here but the schools have them - the addition of our regional side - Princeton, Rider, Penn State, Rutgers, Delaware, Lehigh, and Lafayette.

And this season locally, the Guru is partnering with Aaron Bracy, who has already started writing some men’s teasers over at Big 5 Hoops.com.

So for now here’s your local schedule with everyone’s key non-conference dates home and away with some commentary.

Big Five Women’s (Mostly) Non-Conference Highlights

 

Drexel

Nov. 7 Thurs. vs. Marist – season and home opener play a MAAC power.

Nov. 13 Wed vs. La Salle – first official Big Five game for Dragons

Nov. 20 Wed vs. UC Irvine – Anteaters make neighborhood swing playing at Penn next night

Nov. 23 Sat at Temple – will complete pod play for Big Five classic for home team

Nov. 27 Wed at Penn State – visiting Big Ten budding power

Dec. 4 Wed vs. Lehigh – second local visit to city for the Patriot contender from Bethlehem

Dec. 6 Friday – Big 5 Classic at Villanova

Dec. 15 Sun – at Florida State visiting an ACC power

Jan. 3 Friday – CAA opener vs. longtime rival Delaware which is heading to C-USA in 2005.

 

La Salle

Nov. 4 Mon at Maine – season opener

Nov. 9 Sat vs. Delaware -home opener

Nov. 13 Wed at Drexel — ongoing rivalry, first official Big 5 in series

Nov. 17 Sun at Virginia — visit to an ACC member

Nov. 20 Wed vs. Rider — area rival from the MAAC

Nov. 26 Tues vs. Lehigh – area rival from the Patriot

Dec. 1 Sun vs Temple – second of two pod games for the Explorers

Dec. 6 Friday – Big 5 Classic at Villanova

Dec. 17 Tues at Texas — very high Quad 1 game against a national power

Dec. 20/21 Fri meets Northern Kentucky at UC San Diego Tourney

Meets host team second day.

 

Penn

Nov. 8 Fri vs. Merrimack – season and home opener at The Palestra

Nov. 10 Sun at Maine like La Salle a week earlier visiting an America East contender

Nov. 15 Fri vs. Saint Joseph’s – First Big 5 pod game at The Palestra

Nov. 20 Wed at Villanova – completes Big 5 pod play

Nov. 21 Thurs vs. UC Irvine – Anteaters finish swing after visit to Drexel previous night

Nov. 26 Tues vs. Immaculata — playing a great in the area from yesteryear.

Nov. 29-30 Fri/Sat playing Chattanooga and Cal Baptist in Fla. Gulf Coast’s tourney

Dec. 6 Fri – Big Five Classic at Villanova

Dec. 30 Mon – at Arizona State newly moved to the Big 12 from PAC-12

Jan. 4 Sat vs. Columbia – Ivy opener against defending regular season co-champs

 

Saint Joseph’s

Nov. 6 Wed vs Goldey-Beacom – season and home opener against area D-3 team

Nov. 10 Sun at Syracuse — visit to an ACC contender

Nov. 15 at Penn – first Big 5 pod game

Nov. 20 Wed at Southern Utah — a swing to the Rockies

Nov. 22 Fri at Utah — The PAC-12 national power of last year now in the Big 12

Dec. 1 Sun vs. Villanova – ends pod play involving Hawks with Cats and Penn

Dec. 6 Fri — Big Five Classic at Villanova

Dec. 9 Mon vs Maine — visit from America East Power

Dec. 20/21 Fri/Sun Hawk Classic — vs. Howard then either Northwestern or Charleston

 

Temple

Nov. 4 Mon vs. Richmond — home and season opener against A-10 defending champs

Nov. 12 Tue at Delaware – returning last season’s visit from down in Newark

Nov. 15 Fri at VCU visit to another A-10 power

Nov. 19 Tue at Georgetown – trip to a Big East up and comer

Nov. 23 Sat vs. Drexel - first Big 5 pod game for the Owls

Nov. 26 Tue vs. Princeton – hosting Ivy champs and regular season co-champs

Dec. 1 Sun at La Salle – sets Big 5 pod standings involving Dragons, Owls and Explorers

Dec. 6 Fri – Big Five Classic at Villanova

Dec.  14 Sat vs. West Virginia – a Big 12 power that years ago was in the Big East and A-10

Dec. 21/22 Sat-Sun Raising B.A.R tourney playing Xavier then Fordham or host Cal.

 

Villanova

Nov. 10 Sun vs. Wake Forest – return visit from ACC school for ‘Cats season/home opener

Nov. 13 Wed at Princeton – visit to Ivy tourney champs and regular season co-champs

Nov. 16 Sat vs. Columbia - and quickly host the Ivy regular season co-champs

Nov. 20 Wed vs. Penn – First Big 5 pod game

Nov. 23-24 Sat/Sun – meet Texas A&M and either UNC or Ball State at Battle 4 Atlantis

Dec. 1 Sun at Saint Joseph’s – completes Cats, Penn, and Hawks pod standings

Dec. 6 Fri – hosts Big 5 Classic

Dec. 8 Sun at Fairfield — visiting defending MAAC champs

Dec. 11 Wed at Delaware — near neighborhood rivalry

Dec. 15 vs. James Madison — former CAA power now in the Sun Belt

 

Big Five Breakout Format

Pod Groups – Saint Joseph’s, Villanova, Penn; Drexel, La Salle, Temple

 

Nov. 13 Wed– La Salle at Drexel

Nov. 15 Fri – Saint Joseph’s at Penn

Nov. 20 Wed – Penn at Villanova

Nov. 23 Sat – Drexel at Temple

Dec 1 Sun 2 p.m. - Villanova at Saint Joseph’s

Dec 1 Sun (Time TBA) - Temple at La Salle

Dec 6 Fri – Big 5 Classic at Villanova 5th, 3rd, and 1st Place