Big 5 men’s basketball: Here’s what the six teams should wish for in the new year

It’s the time of year when you reflect on what’s happened and turn the page to what’s next.

For the majority of Big 5 men’s basketball teams, it’s better for their sanity to focus on the latter.

There have been more downs than ups for the majority of the local men’s hoops teams in 2024, and if the season ended today, it likely would result in a third consecutive season with no Philly representation in the NCAA Tournament.

Luckily for those six coaches, more than half the season remains. It’s time for conference play, and there is reason to be hopeful for at least a few of the local schools.

Here’s what each Big 5 men’s basketball team should be wishing for in 2025:

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The new-look Dragons (8-5) look a lot like the old Dragons. They remain a difficult team to play against and, like most of Zach Spiker’s recent teams, are a tough one to blow out.

Four of Drexel’s five losses have been by single digits. The other, against Penn State, was by 11 points.

The three Dragons leading the way have waited their turn. Kobe MaGee, a junior guard from the Lehigh Valley, is taking advantage of his increased workload and is up to 14.8 points per game to go with 4.8 rebounds. Yame Butler, a senior who has been with the Dragons for three seasons after starting his college career at Fordham, is averaging 13.8 points while shooting 50.4% from the field. And Cole Hargrove, a junior forward from Methacton, has averages of 10.8 points and 8.5 rebounds.

The balanced Dragons will be a tough out as usual in the Coastal Athletic Association.

» READ MORE: Here’s how Drexel guard Kobe MaGee went from flashes of potential to rising star power

Out with the old, in with the new. That was the theme of the 2024-25 basketball season for the Explorers (8-5), who opened John Glaser Arena with a win over American on Nov. 4 and haven’t stopped winning there. La Salle is a perfect 6-0 at home, and not all of them have been against cupcakes like its most recent victory over Immaculata.

Rider transfer Corey McKeithan, one of five Explorers who average double figures, has been a revelation and has exceeded 20 points five times through 13 games. Freshman Deuce Jones is looking more than comfortable playing plenty. Temple transfer Jahlil White is doing it at both ends.

Fran Dunphy’s rebuilt roster via the transfer portal was picked to finish last in the Atlantic 10, but Dunphy’s teams aren’t back-of-the-pack types. This one won’t be either. Especially if the Glaser magic continues.

It has not been a pretty start to the season for the Quakers. They are 4-9 and their best win came against Maine. Scoring is a chore, and opponents are finding the opposite to be true when the Quakers are on defense.

Leading scorer Ethan Roberts (illness) did not play Sunday in a 20-point loss to Penn State, but Michael Zanoni scored 27, and the Penn offense looked a lot better than it usually does. Perhaps that will carry over into the new year, but there’s not much else the Quakers will want to bring with them.

The average margin of defeat in Penn’s nine losses is nearly 20 points. The Quakers are the lowest-rated Ivy League team by NCAA NET rankings and one of the lowest in the country overall at No. 342 of the 364 men’s hoops teams. As of Tuesday, no other team in the Ivy was outside the top 275.

The Hawks, repeat Big 5 champions, play a high-variance game, which means they will sometimes need a little luck — shooting luck in particular — on their side on some nights.

St. Joe’s (9-4) boasts one of the most talented lineups in the Atlantic 10. Erik Reynolds II is running down Jameer Nelson’s scoring record on Hawk Hill. Xzayvier Brown, when he’s back from injury, is one of the best mid-major point guards in the country. Derek Simpson’s transfer from Rutgers has so far looked like a good choice. The secondary pieces fit, too.

What’s missing? Putting it all together on a consistent basis. More than shooting luck is involved there, but it’s part of it. The Hawks have made big strides defensively. This is the best defensive unit — by KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency metric — in Billy Lange’s six seasons. If the shots fall, the wins will rise.

» READ MORE: St. Joe’s has another Big 5 Classic championship but a long season ahead to keep ‘attacking’

Sunday’s win over Buffalo was a good sign for the Owls. Jamal Mashburn Jr. scored near his season average of 20.1 points per game with 18. But Temple (8-5) also had four additional players in double figures in its 91-71 victory — and none of them was Lynn Greer III, who recently rejoined his teammates after missing the start of the season because of a suspension.

That secondary scoring will be critical in determining where this Temple season goes. Zion Stanford has been inconsistent but has shown signs of being a capable scorer. Same with Steve Settle III.

Mashburn has taken 26.8% of the total Temple shots from the field. Is that the winning formula?

The Wildcats (8-5) are wasting the best offensive team they’ve had under Kyle Neptune. Villanova, thanks largely to Eric Dixon, the nation’s leading scorer, has one of the best offenses in the country. The Wildcats ranked seventh nationally in offensive efficiency as of Tuesday, according to KenPom metrics. Their defense, however, ranked 194th.

That’s the worst Villanova defense in the KenPom data era — since 1997, before Jay Wright was around. No other team rated in the top 100 overall has a worse defense. That’s a sharp turnaround for Villanova. In Neptune’s previous two seasons, the Wildcats had one of the better defensive teams in the country.

Villanova hasn’t played since its Dec. 21 loss to Creighton in Omaha, Neb. We’ll see Wednesday at Butler if a defensive turnaround begins.

» READ MORE: Villanova’s Eric Dixon is waging an All-American campaign, and he’s starting to get some help from his teammates