Big 5 Basketball: Temple and Penn pull off big wins in emotional day in Philly

It was an emotionally-charged day in Philly hoops on Saturday, as Big 5 Basketball teams Temple and Penn score huge wins in games with major postseason implications.

With Big 5 basketball, The College Basketball Capital of the World is never short of story lines. Every Saturday from November to March, in one corner of the city or another, something big is happening on the college hoops hardwood. But few days are as emotionally charged as Saturday was in Philly, with Temple and Penn both celebrating senior night before games that had massive postseason implications. Both teams pulled off season-changing wins on Saturday, directly or effectively punching their tickets to meaningful March basketball.

Temple knocks off #25 UCF in Dunphy’s last game at Liacouras Center

The energy around Liacouras Center on Saturday afternoon was electric; the streets were lined with fans clad in cherry and white, the bars around campus becoming standing-room-only a few hours before tip. It was the kind of excitement Temple hoops hasn’t been able to generate in a few years. But with senior night honoring Shizz Alston and Ernest Aflakpui, Fran Dunphy coaching his last game at Liacouras Center after 13 years, and a potential win against #25 UCF bolstering Temple’s already convincing tournament resumé, it was the perfect storm for packing North Broad.

And the emotions, from honoring the seniors to Dunphy getting his final acknowledgement from his home crowd, to the moment of silence for long-time Temple sports information director Al Shrier (who had been working with Temple athletics for an astonishing 67 years, beginning immediately after his graduation from the school in 1953) spilled over into the intense game. The players, the crowd, and even Fran himself created an incredible atmosphere inside Liacouras Center. The game meant so much for so many reasons, and the emotions were palpable, from tip all the way to the court storm after the final buzzer.

The game was close from the time Temple broke a couple of early eight-point leads the Knights had built before the first media timeout. Neither team held a lead larger than four between the beginning of the first half and the 2:07 mark of the second. Shizz Alston predictably came up big, scoring his 21 points from just about everywhere on the floor. Quinton Rose was his usual up-and-down self, starting off cold but finishing with 11 points, none bigger than the monster dunk that broke a 52-52 tie with four minutes left. He was also fouled on the play as the Liacouras Center crowd erupted around him. Justyn Hamilton had a career day, J.P. Moorman was effective, and Temple grabbed what was probably its biggest win since the last time they went to the tournament in 2016 by a 67-62 score.

There’s a lot to be excited about with this Temple team, and the win also secured a three-seed and an easier path to the final in this weekend’s AAC tournament. It was a huge moment for Temple, but I think everyone expects more from this season. A decent NCAA Tournament run and a conference championship should be on the minds of the Owls as the postseason gets underway.

Penn secures spot in Ivy League tournament with win over Brown

While the students at Liacouras Center were rushing the court in North Philly, Penn and Brown were tipping off a few miles away in what had become a play-in game for the last spot in the Ivy League tournament.

Few teams in the country had a season as complicated as Penn’s: they lost last year’s leading scorer Ryan Betley in the first half of their season-opening game against George Mason but went on to have a non-conference season that began to garner at-large talks in December. They were the first Big 5 team to topple Nova since 2012, beat Miami on the road, and were off to a 10-2 start.

But things began to unravel for the Quakers just before Ivy play got underway. Freshman Michael Wang, who had plugged a huge offensive hole left by Betley’s absence, went down with an injury against Toledo in December, joining Max Rothschild on the injured list. The Quakers got healthy, but a four-game skid came to derail their season. They lost their first two Ivy games, both against bitter-rival Princeton, and even after snapping the slide with two Big 5 wins that gave them the outright city title, they weren’t able to find consistency in Ivy play.

Their chances to earn a trip to the Ivy tournament seemed slim sitting at 4-7 after a loss to Harvard a week ago, but they entered this weekend facing a few scenarios that would clinch them that final spot; the easiest path would be to win both games on the final weekend of the regular season.

After Brown beat Princeton on Friday, Penn was faced with a must-win scenario in both of their final two games, and it certainly wasn’t going to be an easy task; they had league-leading Yale in town on Friday night, and would be facing a Brown team also chasing that final tournament spot on Saturday. And with Penn cruising past Yale with a big effort from AJ Brodeur on Friday, everything came down to Saturday’s matchup with the Bears.

Another senior night, another make-or-break game in Philly on Saturday, and Penn did enough to seal their trip to New Haven. In a tight defensive battle, Penn came out on top 58-51. The teams scored a combined five points in the final six minutes of the game. Devin Goodman paced the scoring effort for Penn with 20 points, and senior Jake Silpe, who was given the start by Steve Donahue and played 37 minutes, scored 13.

As red and blue streamers came falling from the crowd, the emotions were clear in Penn’s post-game interview. A giddy Steve Donahue called his whole team over to the camera, and the emotions came pouring out of senior Max Rothschild, who called the Palestra the best place to play in college basketball before letting a curse word slip while joyously describing his teammates. They’ll be in action this weekend in New Haven, playing top-seeded Harvard in the first round.

Big moments will happen every year in Philly hoops. Players will come and go, coaches will retire; there will be big upsets, big disappointments, tournament runs. But this past Saturday was an intensely emotional day for Philadelphia basketball, one that will be remembered by hoops fans in this city for a long time. And it will be recalled with even greater fondness if it marked the beginning of a couple of big postseasons for Temple and Penn. Every Big 5 fan has a reason to watch basketball this weekend, and many can seriously hope their teams have a lot of noise to make in March.