Men's Basketball | July 20, 2023
PHILADELPHIA – The schedule is set as a new era in Philadelphia Big 5 men's basketball begins in the 2023-24 season.
In the new format, all six of the city's NCAA Division I men's basketball programs have been split into two pods of three teams. Each team will play the others in their pod at on-campus sites in a round-robin format. From those games, the schedule will be set for a tripleheader at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday, Dec. 2 with the first seed in each pod competing for the Big 5 championship, the second-place teams in each pod competing for third place, and the third seeds competing for fifth place.
For the 2023-24 season, Pod 1 features Drexel, La Salle and Temple while Pod 2 features Penn, Saint Joseph's and Villanova. La Salle and Saint Joseph's are in separate pods because they compete against each other in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Explorers and Hawks will only play against each other in a Big 5 game if they both make the championship game.
The Explorers will open their Big 5 slate on Monday, Nov. 6 when they host Drexel, the newest member of the Big 5. Then, the Explorers will wrap up pod play on Wednesday, Nov. 29 when they face Temple on the road. Game times are to be determined.
The Explorers finished 2-2 in Big 5 games in the final year of the original round-robin format last season. The Explorers defeated Penn, 84-81, in an overtime thriller at The Palestra and topped Saint Joseph's, 73-65, at Hagan Arena to end in third place in the team standings after dropping their first two Big 5 contests to co-champions Villanova and Temple, respectively.
The Explorers will be led this season by reigning Big 5 Coach of the Year Fran Dunphy, who guided them to the Atlantic 10 Championship Tournament quarterfinals for the first time since 2015 and helped them win two games in the tournament for the first time since 2002 in his first season at his alma mater.
He also oversaw an Explorer squad that won 15 games for the second time in four seasons and go on a five-game winning streak from Feb. 1-15. In addition, Dunphy became the first Big 5 head coach to beat two Big 5 programs he previously coached when the Explorers beat Penn, which he had led from 1989-2006. When Dunphy was coaching for Temple from 2006-19, he defeated Penn for the first time on Jan. 23, 2008, when the Owls earned an 80-64 victory.
In addition, they bring back All-Big 5 First Team guard
Khalil Brantley, who became the first Explorer to earn that distinction since B.J. Johnson garnered back-to-back First-Team honors in 2017-18. Brantley was chosen to be on the First Team after a sensational sophomore campaign for the Explorers, leading the team in points per game (14.3), assists per game (4.1), steals per game (1.6), and minutes per game (33.7).
To purchase season tickets for the upcoming season, visit goexplorers.com/tickets or call 215-951-1999.
2023-24 Philadelphia Big 5 Men's Basketball Schedule
(All game times TBA by host school)
Monday, Nov. 6 – Drexel at La Salle
Friday, Nov. 10 – Penn at Saint Joseph's
Monday, Nov. 13 – Villanova at Penn
Tuesday, Nov. 14 – Temple at Drexel
Wednesday, Nov. 29 – Saint Joseph's at Villanova
Wednesday, Nov. 29 – La Salle at Temple
Saturday, Dec. 2 – Big 5 Tripleheader at Wells Fargo Center
