From the Foul Line on Philly College Basketball

Folks, we have finally made it to College Basketball Opening Night for the 25-26 season & the road to Indianapolis for the Championship. Could the 25-26 season see a Philadelphia team end the streak of no Men’s team making the NCAA Tournament? The last time a Philly team made the NCAA Tournament was Villanova in 2022, & that year they made the Final Four & that would also turn out to be Jay Wright’s Final game as Villanova Head Coach.

The Toyota Big 5 Men’s Classic, which is a tripleheader that will take place on December 6 at Xfinity Mobile Arena (formerly known as Wells Fargo Center), to see who is the champion for Philadelphia. Saint Joseph’s has won it the last 2 years.

As we begin this journey to Indianapolis for the Championship, let’s take a look at what Temple, LaSalle, Drexel, Penn, Saint Joseph’s & Villanova have done & the schedule for Opening week for all the teams.

The offseason for Philly Hoops had a lot of attention, especially with the shakeup in new coaches

Penn: Steve Donahue OUT & Fran McCaffery in
LaSalle: Fran Dunphy Retired & Darius Nicole in
Villanova: Kyle Neptune OUT & Kevin Williard in
Saint Joseph’s: Billy Lange Out & Steve Donahue in

Fran Dunphy, who is Mr. Big 5, will now be part of something cool to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Selection Committee

An elevated voice for coaches.

Introducing the NABC Tournament Advisory Committee – a group of former coaches who will provide season-long feedback to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee. pic.twitter.com/EfziyHb4SX

— NABC (@NABC1927) October 29, 2025

Breakdown of what the City 6 Teams did & Who they will be facing opening week

Villanova:
The Wildcats made a change at coach following losing to UConn in the Big East Tournament on March 14 & the change was made on March 15 as Kyle Neptune is OUT. & On March 30, they announced the hiring of Kevin Willard as the new coach & got introduced on April 9.

Kevin Willard on the new season

I asked new #Villanova coach Kevin Willard on what has to build up been like for the first game of the season#NovaNation pic.twitter.com/OTJssi7FVd

— David Malandra Jr (@DaveMReports) November 1, 2025

Villanova will begin the Season on Nov 3 with a battle against BYU in the Hoops Hall of Fame Series from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas at 9:30 PM on TNT & then do battle with Queens on Saturday, Nov 8 at 7 pm on ESPN+ from Finneran Pavilion, which is part of the Villanova Challenge.

Saint Joseph’s:
The Hawks come into the season also going through a coaching change. On  Sep 10, shocking news as Billy Lange would leave Hawk Hill for a Role with the New York Knicks & who would take over is Steve Donahue, who the Hawks named Associate Head Coach after he was let go at Penn.

Steve Donahue  has with message to the fans

Question I asked to New @SJUHawks_MBB coach Steve Donohue & Athletic Director Jill Bodensteiner about message to the fan base & shakeup in Big 5 #Big5Hoops #THWND pic.twitter.com/sICwghAVnY

— David Malandra Jr (@DaveMReports) September 11, 2025

The Hawks will begin the season with 2 home games on Nov 3  against Lafayette & then do battle against Big 5 Rival Drexel on Nov 8.

Penn:
There would be a change with the Penn Quakers as they decided to move on from Steve Donahue on March 10 & name Fran McCaffery as the new head coach on March 27 & introduce Fran on April 7

Fran McCaffery  with a Message to the fanbase

New #Penn Coach Fran McCafferty message to Students & City of Philadelphia#Big5Hoops #FightonPenn pic.twitter.com/kJnpw4IzEB

— David Malandra Jr (@DaveMReports) April 7, 2025

Penn will open their season on Friday, Nov 7, at Home vs Rowan & then hit the road at American on Nov 9.

LaSalle:
The Explorers would join the Coaching changes in the city as they  move on from a legend in Fran Dunphy, who retired at the end of 24-25 season & name Darris Nichols as the New coach on March 11 & introduce him on March 24

What does Darris Nichols know about the Big 5

I asked new @LaSalle_MBB Coach Darris Nichols about what he knows about the #Philadelphia Big 5 #GoExplorers #Big5Hoops pic.twitter.com/nnsLP688uQ

— David Malandra Jr (@DaveMReports) March 24, 2025

LaSalle will begin its season with 2 straight home games starting on Nov 5 vs Coppin State & then Monmouth on Nov 8. The Explorers will also take part in a cool event called “Basketball on the Broad Autumn Invitational” at Xfinity Mobile Arena on November 15 against Penn State.

Temple:
The Owls come into the season led by Adam Fisher, who is entering his 3rd year as Head Coach of the Owls & looking to build off last year. The Owls would add to their staff by adding  Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree as Director of Player Development. Temple will be taking part in the Terry’s Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational, which is Thanksgiving week in Orlando.

Owls will start the season with 2 home games, starting on Nov 5 against Delaware State on Nov 5 & then the Big 5 Battle with LaSalle on Nov 11

Drexel:
The Dragons come into the season led by Zach Spiker, who is entering his 10th year with the Dragons &  trying to build off what they did last year, added to coaching staff by adding Tim Brooks. One of the headline games on the Drexel schedule is an encounter with Syracuse at Xinity Mobile Arena in South Philly, part of the “Basketball on Broad Autumn Invitational”, which is November 15.

Dragons will start the season on Nov 3 vs Widener & then Big 5 battle at Saint Joseph’s.

This season, the NCAA Tournament will be making a stop at Xfinity Mobile Arena on March 20-22 for the Opening weekend of the Tournament & the host team is Saint Joseph’s University. Will we see one of the Philly teams playing in the NCAA Tournament in Philly?? The Last time one of the Philadelphia teams played in the NCAA Tournament in South Philly was in 2009, when Villanova made the Final Four.