Path to Madness: Big 5 Conference Tournament Scenarios

As March begins, it’s time to take a look at where the teams in the Philadelphia Big 5 stand heading into their respective conference tournaments. Philadelphia Sports Now will update this article as the final week of the regular season concludes and the conference standings solidify.

Villanova locked up the No. 3 seed in the Big East following their loss to St. John’s on Saturday, Feb. 28, securing a first round bye. They’ll face the winner of the No. 6/No. 11 first round matchup on Thursday, March 12 at Madison Square Garden, a game set to begin at 9:30 p.m. Right now, Creighton (one game remaining) and Marquette (two games remaining) hold those respective seeds, but there’s room for movement in the final week of the season.

The University of Pennsylvania Men’s Basketball team locked up their return to Ivy Madness, securing the No. 3 seed with their home win over Harvard on Saturday, Feb. 28. They’ll face the No. 2 seeded Crimson again at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 14 in Ithaca, New York in the semifinal round of the tournament.

Drexel locked up their CAA seed on Tuesday, March 3, and the A-10 women’s teams learned their second round draws on Wednesday, March 4 (see below).

Big 5 Schedule Updates

Sunday, March 8 at 2:30 p.m.- No. 5 seed Drexel Men’s Basketball will face No. 4 Monmouth in the CAA quarterfinals. The Dragons and the Hawks traded 20-point road blowouts during the regular season.

Sunday, March 8 at 5 p.m.- No. 2 seed Villanova Women’s Basketball advances to face the winner of No. 3 Seton Hall and No. 6 St. John’s.

Saturday, March 7 at 2:30 p.m.- No. 5 seed Drexel Men’s Basketball will face No. 13 seed Northeastern in the second round of the CAA Tournament. Northeastern upset NC A&T the previous day, but the Dragons won 84-77 behind 21 points from Eli Beard and 16 from Victor Panov.

Saturday, March 7 at 7 p.m.- No. 2 seed Villanova Women’s Basketball will face No. 7 Providence in the second round of the Big East Tournament. The Friars blew past DePaul with a strong third quarter on March 6. The Wildcats won 73-65. They ran cold at times but prevailed thanks to 31 points from Jasmine Bascoe and Kennedy Henry‘s first career double-double.

3/8/2026: Update 11 a.m.-

Drexel Men’s Basketball’s NCAA Tournament hopes came to an end in the second round of the CAA Tournament. They led 48-43 with ten minutes to play but allowed Monmouth to close them out 22-9 from there.

Temple Men’s Basketball suffered a 78-76 loss at Tulsa, showing their tenacity against the No. 2 team in the American and boxing themselves into the conference’s No. 10 seed. They’ll face No. 9 FAU at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11 in the opening round of the conference tournament and went 0-2 against those Owls during the regular season.

Villanova Women’s Basketball dispatched Seton Hall 62-48 in the Big East semifinals, punching their ticket to the conference championship and a duel with reigning national champion UConn.

3/7/2026: Update 11 p.m.-

Saint Joseph’s defeated La Salle 88-76 on Hawk Hill, helping to solidify the A-10 bracket. The Hawks will enjoy a double bye, while the Explorers fall to the No. 12 seed and will face No. 13 St. Bonaventure in the opening round at Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena. That game will take place at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 11.

Villanova Men’s Basketball will face No. 6 DePaul or No. 11 Georgetown in the Big East quarterfinals, with that game set to begin at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 12.

Temple Women’s Basketball took down Tulane 84-56, locking them into the No. 7 seed in the American. They’ll face No. 10 South Florida at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10.

Drexel Women’s Basketball endured a 74-58 loss at Towson, dropping them to the No. 3 seed in the CAA. They retain a double bye and will enter the tournament field at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, March 13.

3/7/2026: Update 8 a.m.-

Saint Joseph’s and La Salle Women’s Basketball’s seasons came to an end with losses in the quarterfinal round of the A-10 Tournament. The Hawks had the ball and a chance to take the lead with less than 20 seconds to play against Davidson, but an offensive foul quashed their hopes on the way to a 64-59 loss; La Salle took a 70-51 pummeling from No. 3 seed Richmond.

March hopes remain on Hawk Hill, however, as VCU knocked off Dayton on Friday evening, locking Saint Joseph’s men’s team in to the No. 3 seed in the A-10. They’ll host La Salle at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 7 in both teams’ regular season finale; the Explorers, 5-12 in conference play, will finish somewhere between No. 11 and No. 13.

With a double bye wrapped up, the Hawks will begin their title run at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 13.

3/5/2026: Update 10 p.m. –

Saint Joseph’s and La Salle’s women’s teams each advanced to the quarterfinals of the A-10 Tournament. The Hawks knocked off Duquesne 66-45, and La Salle survived a second half resurgence from Saint Louis 59-51. They’ll play No. 4 Davidson and No. 3 Richmond, respectively, at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 6.

Temple Men’s Basketball snapped a six game losing streak, obliterating Tulane 89-60 in their home finale at the Liacouras Center. Coupled with Rice and East Carolina losses, that guarantees the Owls will earn a spot in the American Conference Tournament: they could finish anywhere between No. 8 and No. 10 depending on the outcome of their final regular season game at Tulsa, set to begin at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 8.

Drexel Women’s Basketball took down Hofstra 70-56, maintaining their hold on the No. 2 seed in the CAA. Campbell and Stony Brook both sit a game behind the Dragons with one game to play, but they’ve got a double bye in the conference tournament locked up.

3/5/2026: Update 7:30 a.m. –

Saint Joseph’s Men’s Basketball clinched a double bye in the A-10 Tournament with their road win over Davidson, head coach Steve Donahue continuing the Hawks’ remarkable turnaround after former head man Billy Lange left on the eve of fall practices and leading scorer Deuce Jones II departed the team as conference play began.

The Hawks will finish their season in the No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the conference, as they’re currently tied with Dayton with one game remaining.

La Salle managed to pick up their fifth conference win of the season in a home thriller against Fordham, ensuring they’ll finish somewhere between No. 11 and No. 13 in the A-10. The Explorers will travel to Hawk Hill to take on Saint Joseph’s at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 7, so the Big 5 rivalry will help determine who finishes where.

3/4/2026: Update 6:30 p.m. –

Saint Joseph’s Women’s Basketball will play No. 12 Duquesne in their second round matchup in the A-10 Tournament. That game will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Henrico Sports and Events Center in Henrico, Va.

La Salle Women’s Basketball will play No. 11 Saint Louis, who survived a scare against No. 14 Fordham. Their matchup will take place at 7:30 p.m. the same day.

Update 3/3/2026:

Drexel Men’s Basketball dropped their road game against Hofstra on Tuesday, March 3, falling 62-51 and writing themselves out of a double bye in the process. The Dragons (16-15, 10-8) will finish in fifth place in the CAA even with one game remaining, setting them up to face the winner of the No. 12/No. 13 matchup between North Carolina A&T and Northeastern.

Drexel will begin their tournament run at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 7 at CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C.

Temple Women’s Basketball fell 82-36 on the road against South Florida, dropping them to 13-16 (7-10 American). That moves them into a three-way tie with Charlotte and Florida Atlantic. They’ll host the Owls in the final game of the regular season; Temple swept Charlotte 2-0 in the regular season and hasn’t yet played FAU. If they win they’ll finish as the No. 7 seed; if they lose, they could fall as far as the No. 10 seed.

On the men’s side, Saint Joseph’s will travel to Davidson and La Salle will host Fordham on Wednesday, March 4, matchups that will help determine their seeding in the A-10 tournament.

Wiggle Room Remaining

Saint Joseph’s holds the No. 4 seed in the A-10 with two games remaining. A top four finish would secure them a double bye in the conference tournament. La Salle sits in the No. 13 spot, second to last in the A-10, meaning they’ll almost certainly play in the first round at Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena on Thursday, March 12. The Hawks and Explorers will face off on Saturday, March 7 in their regular season finale, while Saint Joseph’s will need revenge against Davidson on Wednesday, March 4 in order to hold their spot in the top four.

Drexel Men’s Basketball holds the No. 4 seed in the CAA with one game remaining; like the A-10, they’ll receive a double bye with a top four finish. That would set them up to begin their tournament run on Sunday, March 8; CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C. will host the festivities.

For Temple, the bottom three seeds in the 13-team American don’t qualify for the tournament. Amidst a six game losing streak, the Owls hold the No. 9 seed with two games remaining. If they hang on, they’ll head to Birmingham, Ala. to play in the first round on Wednesday, March 11 and can’t finish any higher than the No. 7 seed.

Women’s Big 5 Seeds

With the women’s regular season almost wrapped up, four of six Big 5 teams know their position for the conference tournament. Villanova holds the No. 2 seed in the Big East, providing a first round bye before playing the winner of the No. 7/No. 10 game on Saturday, March 7 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

Saint Joseph’s and La Salle finished at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, in the A-10, giving them a first round bye. 

That conference tournament will take place at the Henrico Sports and Events Center in Henrico, Va.: the Hawks will play the winner of No. 12 Duquesne and No. 13 VCU at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 5, while La Salle will face the winner of No. 11 Saint Louis and No. 14 at 7:30 p.m. that evening.

Penn didn’t qualify for Ivy Madness after finishing fifth in league play.

Temple (7-9 in conference play) has a top ten seed secured but won’t finish better than the No. 6 seed, which would give them a first round bye. They’re a game behind UTSA with two games remaining and the Roadrunners hold the tiebreaker. If they play in the first round they’ll begin their run on Tuesday, March 10 at Birmingham’s Legacy Arena at the BJCC, the same venue hosting the men’s tournament.

Drexel holds the No. 2 seed in the CAA with two games remaining. If they finish top four, they’ll lock down a double bye and begin on Friday, March 13 at CareFirst Arena. If Monmouth wins out and the Dragons lose out, Monmouth could knock them down to No. 5, but Drexel is in a strong spot with one week to go.