There are not enough electrolytes in the greater Philadelphia area to repair the damage done by Charley Lancaster last evening… Thus, this week it isn’t coffee and contemplation, it’s going to have to be brunch, so steer into the skid and join me for brunch, yeah let’s go with that.
Before I get into my topic, I want to apologize to everyone in Section 103 last evening for having to put up with the rantings of the two of us, it was almost as bad as the game itself. But, as I’ve been saying, losses like last night’s 5-0 pumping to the Carolina Whalers (Brass Bonanza is still an elite goal song) are a necessary evil that we need to be okay with. The majority of the fans in attendance last night were 100% what I would call the casual fans, out on a nice Saturday evening to catch a hockey game, so they could not appreciate the significance of dropping the game in regulation which moved the Flyers from being in line for the 8th overall pick up to the 6th. This, again, is significant in a draft where there are only roughly 6/7 top-tier prospects, so lose out, I’ll be there if my liver recovers.
Anyways, let’s move on… It’s March, the one time of year that the average fan becomes enthralled by college hoops.
As we await the bracket’s release in a few hours we are on the precipice of the beginning of the NCAA Basketball tournament and two of the least productive workdays of the year in Thursday and Friday’s opening round later this week. I personally have always found these two days to be my favorite sports days of the year but with the current state of Big 5 basketball in the city, I can appreciate the evident lack of excitement around the area. Here’s a quick rundown of the Big 5 this season and sure Drexel too, why not?!
Villanova
Here are the “highlights” of Nova’s exit from the Big East Tournament and Kyle Neptune’s exit from the program.
Villanova is in the desert, there’s no other way to put it. After a 19-14 season that was good enough for a likely bid to the Not Invited Tournament, Nova dismissed their third-year Head Coach Kyle Neptune as they struggled to regain the prominence they had on the Main Line with Jay Wright. No bid, no D1 football, and the name Vanilla No Fun seems to be apt in this stretch of Wildcat basketball.
Temple
No video embed is needed here. If you thought that Villanova had a fall from grace, well you’d be right, but Temple has languished in slightly-below mediocrity for so long now that I don’t know if a resurgence is even possible. 17-15, 7th in the new-look AAC and probably on the bubble of the NIT… At least there’s Temple Football right?! (Okay, that was mean even from me).
La Salle
La Salle will always receive higher billing than St. Joe’s from me. Figure out why. Or don’t, I don’t care. La Salle had a very La Salle season, 14-19, towards the bottom in the A10, and got bounced from the A10 tourney from the team on Hawk Hill. Hopefully, the next coach of the Explorers can get them back to respectability as Fran Dunphy retires after a legendary Big 5 career:
(I typically try to avoid directing people to the mothership, but it was slim pickings for what I needed…)
Saint Joe’s
Okay, I took my shots on the Hawks above, now I’ll say something nice, the Hawks easily had the best season of any of the Big 5 as they were the only team to amass over 20 wins at 22-12. They should get the nod to a postseason tournament, but definitely not the tournament. Who knows if a few more alums find there wallets in the NIL landscape a return to the glory from the beginning of the century could occur over on Hawk Hill.
Penn
Penn also joins the ranks of Nova as dismissing their head coach as Steve Donahue has been ousted after another dreadful season for the Quakers as they wrapped up this year 8-19 and missing the Ivy League tourney again. All is not smiles time at the Palestra, but with the difficulty of recruiting as an Ivy, it’s a must more difficult task in the NIL world we live in.
Drexel
They ARE NOT a Big 5 team, but let’s give them a sentence. 18-15 in an auto-qualifier-only conference (CAA), yeah that’s it… can’t say I didn’t include you though.
So while the city might have blanked on an NCAA Tournament bid, there’s still a way to inject excitement into March Madness:
(Come on this theme SLAPS!)
Welcome to JJ’s Gamblin’ Corner
The easiest way to get a rooting interest is to simply put a few units up on a future. For those of you who are new to the corner, I tend to be risk averse so I’m going to give you picks throughout the week leading up to the tournament starting on Thursday afternoon. Today we are going to look at the futures of winning the entire tourney. I need to be very clear here, THESE ARE SPRINKLE PLAYS. Don’t go heavy into a futures bet, your odds are longer and you’re locked into the action regardless of the bracket or injuries. But with that being said you will not get better value on these three teams to win it all because the bracket is not out yet. The second that the bracket is released their odds WILL GO DOWN:
Duke + 310
Auburn + 400
Houston +650
All three of these teams are likely #1 seeds and could easily win the entire dance. Locking these odds in before the odds lower is a good use of a sprinkle. Chop up a unit or 2 and get you some action on them at these numbers.
I’ll be back throughout the week with more gambling looks into the tournament and if you followed me during college football season, well you already know we’re here to collect. Have a Sunday Philly.