March 03, 2026
Wendell Cruz/Imagn Images
The Wildcats are likely to be the area's lone representative in the NCAA Tournament later this month.
The pickins' have been slim in recent years for local college hoops.
Perennial contenders Villanova, a team that went to nine straight NCAA tournaments during the final stretch of Jay Wright's Hall of Fame coaching career and won total titles (in 2016 and 2018), hasn't been in the bracket for four years now. They haven't been helped much.
Other Big 5 teams have been equally mundane. Temple hasn't made The Big Dance since Fran Dunphy was calling the shots back in 2016, and same for St. Joe's and Phil Martelli. La Salle's drought has been even longer, stretching back to 2013. And UPenn hasn't won the Ivy League since 2018, when they were one-and-dones in the NCAAs.
A city that was once known for being a hoops juggernaut has been just the opposite of that.
On the women's side it's just as ugly. Aside from Drexel and Nova runs in 2024 and 2023 respectively, it's been nearly 10 years since there were Philly women in the bracket (Temple in 2017, Saint Joseph's in 2014 — with longer droughts for La Salle and UPenn stretching back to the early 1990s).
Things could change in 2026, with the Wildcats firmly looking like an at-large participant. Here's a look at how each of the local hoops teams are faring this season with Selection Sunday less than two weeks away:
We'll start with the guys, who had a nice little six-game win streak going in February before losing two of their last three. They also lost freshman big Matt Hodge with a torn ACL in Sunday's most recent loss to St. John's — a potential costly setback. Still, in the most recent ESPN projections, Nova has a 7-seed and could improve that with a strong finish and showing in the Big East tournament.
The women from Radnor are also expected to be in the bracket this year, projected as a 9-seed by ESPN. They've won eight of their last nine with their only setback in that span coming to 1-ranked UConn a few weeks ago.
Both Hawks teams have 19-10 records and have had solid showings in conference play. But coming from a smaller profile conference, neither has a real chance at an at-large bid. The men have a good chance at a double-bye in the A-10 tournament later in the month as a top 4-seed and after that who knows.
The women are two games back from getting a similar seed for the conference tournament. If either can catch lightning in a bottle they could be threats to make some noise in the Big Dance.
The Quaker men are surging, having won six of their last seven. However they're running out of time with one regular season game remaining (Friday against Brown). They'll enter the recently formed 4-team Ivy League tournament as a top three seed and if they can unseat Yale and/or Harvard they could sneak into the NCAA Tournament as conference champs.
The women will finish their season in fifth place and will just miss the postseason.
A seemingly promising season has completely fallen apart for the Owls. The Temple men had a 15-8 record on Feb. 7 and felt like a team with some juice and with the potential to make a run at a tournament berth. They've since lost six straight. Tied for ninth with two games remaining in the regular season, they'll likely need to win at least one, if not both, to make it into the AAC's 10-team postseason bracket.
The women have had an equally disappointing season, with a losing record for the Owls this season. Due to some more parity in their conference, they can still clinch a conference tournament berth with one win in their last two games.
Because the A-10 includes all teams in its mega conference tournament, both Explorer squads will have at least one playoff game to play later in March, but neither will be favored to advance. The men have been atrocious all season with just one win in their last nine games.
The women's team has been a little more impressive, with five wins in the last six games. They might be able to do some damage as a top five-seed in the A-10.
These two schools aren't technically in the Big 5 but we'll give them some love for their proximity to the area.
• Drexel's women's team has actually had a fantastic season and at 19-8 they sit in the second spot in the CAA with two games left (and a two-game deficit). They'll have a double-bye into the conference tournament and if they win it all they'll join Nova in the big bracket.
• The Dragons men's team is 16-14 and will need to get really hot next week and run the table as a mid-seed in the CAA tournament.
• The Delaware women will secure a top-10 seed, even at 12-17, and will have an uphill battle in the conference tournament.
• And finally the Blue Hens men's team has been brutally bad, and are dead last in Conference USA.
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