Temple, La Salle men's basketball teams to face-off with Big 5 Championship berth on the line
Saint Joseph's plays on Hawk Hill, but they're at the top of the mountain in this city. Only one team will get a chance to knock them off their perch.
St. Joe's earned a chance to repeat as Big 5 Championship by finishing 2-0 in their pod. The Hawks flew past arch-rival Villanova and rolled past Penn.
"We feeling great," St. Joe's guard Derek Simpson said. "These two are out of the way. We got them done, we took care of business, but we've got a third one to take care of."
For a second straight year, Temple and La Salle will battle for a spot in the title game.
Last year, the Owls beat the Explorers in a triple overtime thriller on North Broad Street.
"We'll think about that in our preparation, but I like their team. I like how they're playing," La Salle head coach Fran Dunphy said. "I like their depth. They're a really good team. We'll have to play our best basketball for sure."
But this year's game will be played on La Salle's home court on Saturday at the new Glaser Arena. The winner plays St. Joe's, with Temple hoping for a rematch.
The loser will take on Villanova in the third-place game. That game may be an appetizer for the main course of the triple-header, but last year, it produced the viral moment of the Big 5 Classic. Penn and Drexel are locked into the fifth-place game with bragging rights on the line between the next-door neighbors.
Before you know it, the streamers and rollouts for year two of the new Big 5 Classic will be underway.