Big 5 hoops notebook: St. Joe’s women reach 20 wins; Drexel men drop second CAA game

The St. Joseph’s women’s basketball team hit the 20-win mark a few hours before the clock struck midnight and the calendar flipped from January to February.

As things go in the Big 5 right now — in men’s and women’s hoops — that mark is pretty impressive. It’s five wins clear of the field (Drexel’s men’s team has 15 wins).

Cindy Griffin’s team is rolling. The Hawks won their seventh straight Wednesday night vs. Loyola in Chicago. They’re now 20-2, their only blemishes coming against No. 20 Utah back in December and a Jan. 6 loss to Richmond, which is 18-4 and has just one Atlantic 10 loss.

In ESPN’s latest bracket projection, St. Joe’s is in as a No. 12 seed as the A-10′s automatic qualifier, by virtue of being in first place as of Friday morning. But it’s becoming pretty clear that even without an A-10 tournament win, the Hawks, led by the dominant play of Talya Brugler and some pretty solid defense, could find themselves firmly in the at-large conversation.

St. Joe’s has a home game Saturday vs. UMass, the last-place team in the conference, but circle Thursday on your calendar. The Hawks play at George Mason, which also has just one conference loss.

» READ MORE: 5 thoughts on Villanova as the Wildcats suffer through a rare long losing streak

While St. Joe’s represents the most likely chance for a Big 5 team to reach March Madness on the women’s side, it’s Drexel on the men’s side.

The Dragons, however, are seeing their lead atop the Coastal Athletic Association get slimmer. They dropped their second conference game Thursday night at Monmouth, 67-62, behind 14 turnovers and a 4-for-20 shooting performance from three-point range. That’s not going to get it done.

The Dragons still sat at the top of the CAA standings (and, in turn, in the projected NCAA field) at 8-2 on Saturday morning, but they’re off this weekend and could be tied with Towson, a team they lost to last week, by Saturday night.

After the weekend off, Drexel has a few big tests next week: Thursday at UNC-Wilmington and Saturday at College of Charleston. Both of those teams entered the weekend at 6-3 in the CAA.

Who said this was supposed to be easy for Zach Spiker’s bunch?

» READ MORE: How golf balls and ‘the culture’ are impacting Drexel’s historic start to the CAA basketball season

Ivy Madness in New York City this year might go on without Penn.

Both the men’s and women’s teams are one game out of the fourth spot in the Ivy League standings (only the top four teams advance to the tournament) after Friday night’s games, but are trending in different directions. The men lost at Brown, while the women beat Brown at home.

Penn’s men’s team is 9-11 overall and has won just one game since top player Clark Slajchert went down with an ankle injury. The Quakers are 1-4 in the Ivy and play Saturday night at undefeated Yale, which beat Princeton Friday night.

The Quakers could fall to 1-5 in the Ivy on Saturday night, with a tough rivalry road game at Princeton next weekend.

The women’s team, led in part by freshman point guard Mataya Gayle, is now 3-3 after defeating Brown and sits one game behind fourth-place Harvard. The Quakers host 1-5 Yale at the Palestra on Saturday.

The teams behind the Quakers in the standings are struggling, and they have already played a few of the top teams. There’s work to do, but a run to get the fourth seed is in play.

» READ MORE: A curious mind and a bit of meditation have helped Sam Brown start strong at Penn

OK, this isn’t Big 5, but it’s worth mentioning ...

Hannah Hidalgo’s freshman season at Notre Dame got off to a strong start and hasn’t really slowed down. In fact, it’s sped up a little. The South Jersey native is dominating and is among the best players in the country. She helped lead then-No. 15 Notre Dame to a road win at No. 8 Connecticut last weekend behind what then was a season-high 34 points.

Hidalgo made some more history Thursday night. While scoring 35 points, a new season high, Hidalgo added six steals and became the fastest women’s college basketball player to reach 100 steals since the 1999-2000 season.

On the men’s side, there’s a Big 5 matchup to look forward to as La Salle hosts St. Joe’s on Saturday (noon, ESPNU). The Hawks are coming off a tight win vs. George Mason, while the Explorers fell at Rhode Island. Penn plays at Yale on Saturday (7 p.m., ESPN+). Villanova, looking to stop a rare five-game losing streak, hosts Providence on Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center (6 p.m., FS1). Temple, looking to stop a six-game skid, plays at Tulane on Sunday (4 p.m., ESPNU).

On the women’s side, Penn hosts Yale on Saturday (5 p.m., NBCSP+, ESPN+). Villanova, fresh off a tough loss to UConn on Wednesday night, plays Seton Hall on Saturday (2 p.m., FloSports) in Radnor. St. Joe’s welcomes UMass to Hagan Arena on Saturday (2 p.m., ESPN+). Drexel beat rival Delaware on Friday night and plays at William & Mary on Sunday (1 p.m., FloSports). A busy Sunday continues with Temple playing at Charlotte (2 p.m., ESPN+), and La Salle playing a home game vs. Dayton (2 p.m., ESPN+)