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).

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.