You know the drill. Here’s your dose of pregame reading before the ‘Cats and the Jayhawks tip off in about five hours. Enjoy the game.

• Kansas City Star
• Wichita Eagle
• Sports Network
• CBS
• Lawrence Journal-World
• USA Today
• Buffalo News
• Philadelphia Inquirer
• Comcast SportsNet
• Philadelphia Daily News

PS: I apologize that these links aren’t opening up in new windows. Josh Wheeling and I thought we had this one figured out, but lately the links have started opening in the same window anyway. We’ll try to fix it soon.

Tipoff for (12)Villanova vs. (5)Clemson is at 9:50 tomorrow. Here are preview articles galore:

• Spartanburg Herald Journal
• Philadelphia Inquirer
• Sarasota Herald-Tribune
• PhillyBurbs.com
• Deadspin.com
• Tampa Tribune
• BleacherReport.com

(11)St. Joe’s vs. (6)Oklahoma is at 7:40, and I’ll have links for that game up later.

To summarize the Cornell game, Cornell got crushed. The box score is here and a recap is here. As a Penn fan, I want to see Ivy League teams get better seeds in the future, so I was disheartened to see such a blowout. Here the Times wraps things up and looks at what Stanford can expect in its next game, against Marquette.

We all knew that Fran Dunphy and his Temple Owls would be going to the Big Dance after beating St. Joe’s in the A-10 championship on Saturday, but the Hawks’ fate was uncertain. After yesterday’s loss, Phil Martelli said, “I’ve told everybody, if you believe in a greater power than us, pray your (butt) off. Right now, I have to believe in the power of prayer.”

Maybe it has something to do with Easter weekend approaching, but not only were Martelli’s prayers answered — so too were those of Holy War rival Villanova. Both Big 5 squads were very much on the bubble heading into today, and both found their way into the tournament bracket.

While Villanova snagged a 12 seed, St. Joe’s wound up with an 11 seed, which is a bit suspect. Why? Because Temple, the A-10 champion, got stuck with a 12 seed. The two teams split the regular season series, but the Owls beat the Hawks in the A-10 championship game, when it counted most. It seems pretty unfair that the Hawks would wind up with the better seed. But hey, it’s just one seed, and when has the tournament selection committee ever been perfectly accurate or fair?

And to top it all off, Notre Dame won more games this season than it ever has before, earning a 5 seed. The dozen or so of you non-Jews at Penn clearly need to go to church more often.

In any event, it is the first time since 1999 that three Big 5 teams have made the tournament. Now, in the one year that Penn finally fails to make the tourney, you have your pick of Cornell or three Big 5 teams to root for.

Thanks for joining me for Villanova-Saint Joseph’s at the Palestra. Refresh this page for live updates of the game.

FINAL: Saint Joe’s 77, Villanova 55

It’s over, mercifully. Villanova’s streak of 14 straight Big 5 wins is finished, too. The Hawks still have La Salle and Temple, but they’re in the driver’s seat for the Big 5 title this year.

Read more on this in tomorrow’s DP.

Good evening from The Buzz.

2:20, Second half: Saint Joe’s 75, Villanova 44

Villanova pulled out a full-court press to little effect, and Calathes just shredded it for an easy deuce. None of the Xs and Os
went Villanova’s way tonight, and the box score will reflect that. Calathes and Govens are out; the scrubs are in.

5:59, Second half: Saint Joe’s 70, Villanova 42

There’s the dagger. Govens hit his fourth three-pointer and Williamson came up with a great block of a Reynolds three. Calathes tipped in a miss after the fast break, and Villanova calls another timeout. The Hawks student section can taste it.

7:30, Second half: Saint Joe’s 65, Villanova 42

St. Joe’s is doing a good job milking the clock and ushering the game toward its all-but-inevitable conclusion. A lot of the credit for this win has to go to the passing of the Hawks. They’ve done a great job of maintaining control of the ball and finding players inside. Calathes and Ferguson have been the big beneficiaries of the passing.

13:36, Second half: Saint Joe’s 56, Villanova 31

Villanova has don’t little to help its cause; the ‘Cats are just fouling too much and St. Joe’s barely seems to miss at the free-throw line. For the Hawks, Carr picked up his fourth foul, meaning we’ll be seeing Williamson for much of the game’s remainder. Ferguson just hit two open threes, which should make this deficit just about insurmountable. Cunningham also has four fouls for ‘Nova.

I’m not sure why Villanova is slowing down the game and dragging out its possessions. They need some quick baskets.

First semi-clever rollout of the game from the St. Joe’s student section: “2 Coreys Don’t Make a Wright”

Halftime: Saint Joe’s 45, Villanova 26

Villanova can’t capitalize on some sloppy play by the Hawks, and the situation only gets worse when Govens hits yet another three as the first half was winding down. Lots to talk about in the Wildcats locker room.

2:36, First half: Saint Joe’s 42, Villanova 22

Obviously too early to call things, but all signs point to a blowout. Calathes hit another deep three and then corralled a steal on the next possession and threw down a thunderous dunk. Game is the Hawks’ to lose at this point.

4:07, First half: Saint Joe’s 35, Villanova 20

Drummond scored in the post, but Rob Ferguson hit a big three-pointer to stretch the lead to 15. Villanova calls timeout, and the small minority wearing blue and white is nearly silent.

5:13, First half: Saint Joe’s 30, Villanova 18

St. Joe’s is going to win the game at the free throw line at this rate. They’re pushing the ball effectively in transition and earning fouls as they attack the rim. Villanova, meanwhile, has gone cold, its inside play and offensive rebounding keeping it in the game for now.

7:00, First half: Saint Joe’s 24, Villanova 18

Villanova closed the gap to one, but yet another three from Govens made it 22-18 Hawks. Garrett Williamson is in now for St. Joe’s, which is playing like an NCAA Tournament team. Villanova is playing relatively well too, their big men more so than their guards, who aren’t doing much more than jacking up threes. They’ve made a good deal of them so far, but they’ll need to get better shots to catch the Hawks. St. Joe’s looks pretty locked in.

10:40, First half: Saint Joe’s 15, Villanova 10

Govens hit another three and Nivins hit two free throws, but Villanova has been chipping away with some good inside play of its own, along with a deep three from Reynolds.

My impressions on Reynolds so far are that he plays as advertised. Great talent, very quick, plays out of control at times. He has two turnovers and probably should have just had another travel called.

15:40, First half: Saint Joe’s 10, Villanova 4

Darrin Govens scored in transition, and an Ahmad Nivins jam after Govens missed his free throw gave the Hawks an early lead. Corey Fished hit a jumper, but Tasheed Carr answered with one of his own, and after a patented quick-release three-pointer from Pat Calathes, it’s 10-4 Hawks and Jay Wright calls timeout. The St. Joe’s defense has been smothering so far.

Here are your starting lineups:

Villanova (13-7, 3-0 Big 5)
F Antonio Pena
F Dante Cunningham
G Scottie Reynolds
G Reggie Redding
G Corey Fisher

St. Joe’s (14-5, 2-0)
F Rob Ferguson
F Pat Calathes
C Ahmad Nivins
G Darrin Govens
G Tasheed Carr

It took a step down this year, from ESPN2 to CSTV, but it shouldn’t be too hard to follow the annual St. Joe’s-Villanova game. For those willing to cough up $10, a pay-per-view option is available on the Hawks’ website, and for the tight-fisted, Joe Lunardi will be calling the action on WNTP (990 AM). I’ll also be courtside at the Palestra, blogging away, so be sure to check back here around 8.

For a preview, check out the Inquirer article here.

You would think that on the heels of the nationally-televised airing of a documentary about a famous building on 33rd street, Penn and its Big 5 rivals would make an effort to reverse a trend that the final minutes of the documentary addressed: the Big 5’s gradually waning commitment to the Palestra. As Penn wraps up Big 5 play tomorrow against Temple, it’s worth taking a look at where the city’s rivalry games are being held.

This season, Penn will have wound up playing only two of its four Big 5 games at the Palestra. Dunphy Bowl II will take place tomorrow at Temple’s licorice factory, or whatever that gym is called. Sure isn’t referred to as “the cathedral.” Dunphy’s alma mater, La Salle, prefers to take on his current squad at Tom Gola Arena. Though St. Joe’s has gladly invited Temple to the Palestra for their second meeting this season, the Owls will host the first one against their A-10 and Big 5 rival at the Liacouras Center (I did a little research… they’ve been calling it that since 2000!).

To their credit, Phil Martelli’s Hawks have shown a real dedication to keeping the Big 5 alive and will call the Palestra home next season. They will also use the Palestra to host this year’s “holy war,” which has drawn an average of 8,689 fans the last three times it’s been played there. However, Villanova insists on hosting the annual rivalry at the Pavilion, which seats only 6,500. And forget about the Wildcats coming to Penn, unless they’re the visitors.

Every year, there are 10 Big 5 games. This year, only half of them will be played in the building that was made for Big 5 basketball. That’s just a shame. Hopefully, by playing its home games at the Palestra next season, St. Joe’s can help to revitalize the building and finally bring the Big 5 back home in the years to come.

Freshman point guard Harrison Gaines is unlikely to see action tonight against La Salle. He is still feeling the effects of re-tweaking his hamstring last week.

Junior Kevin Egee has been seeing more time in Gaines’ absence. Egee played 13 minutes against NJIT last Saturday (Gaines played 24), but he led the team with 30 against Miami when Gaines was on the bench.

Senior guard Michael Kach is good to go, according to Penn’s game notes, as is junior forward Brennan Votel, who dressed for NJIT but didn’t get in the game. Kach had been out with a back problem and Votel with a hamstring injury.

Elsewhere in the Big 5, both Villanova and St. Joe’s could be getting personnel boosts in the near future, the Inquirer reports.

Just finished watching the Blue-bloods beat the Cherry and White easily at the Wachovia Center. No surprise there. The Dukies had plenty of help (from the guys who are supposed to be colorblind). Enough to build a 16-point lead before the refs realized, hey, we should give Temple a few non-calls to make this thing exciting. Alas, as always seems to happen, the officials righted their ship too late to save the integrity of the evening.

The Inquirer’s audio of the post-game conferences can be found here, here, here and here.

One of the ESPN announcers mentioned that the Big 5 is “down” this year as opposed to last. Numbers-wise, I’m not so sure. Let’s take a look.

Temple is in almost exactly the same spot. The Owls are 6-7 with an RPI of 71 (after tonight’s loss); they were an identical 6-7 at this point last year with a final RPI of 67.

La Salle was an even 6-6 twelve games into 2006 and is 3-9 now, but its current RPI is actually a bit better than last year’s finish.

St. Joe’s is 8-4 with an RPI of 36 (after tonight’s win); the Hawks had a slightly worse record a year ago, 7-5, and a much lower RPI at year’s end, 95.

Villanova has regressed a smidge, but the Big 5 is in roughly the same spot as last year — outside of Penn, which has spun backwards from its ‘07 team.

In another Big 5 item of note, the renovations to the Hawks’ Alumni Memorial Field House that we heard about in early 2006 will indeed force St. Joe’s to play its 2008-09 games at the Palestra, the Daily News reports.

Dick Jerardi also gives us a notebook on the local storylines.

Now on to the Quakers. Freshman point guard Harrison Gaines suffered another setback after playing 24 productive minutes against NJIT, coach Glen Miller told PSN’s Brian Seltzer.

“We’re a little worried about Harrison,” Miller said. “He probably came back too quick; he re-tweaked his hamstring and he didn’t practice yesterday and probably won’t practice today [Wednesday]. We really need him on the court.”

Miller didn’t say whether the injury came in the NJIT game or in a subsequent practice, but either way Gaines has another five days to recover before Penn faces La Salle. He had eight assists against NJIT.

While I’m not ready to eat my words just yet on Cameron Lewis, Miller had good things to say about him, which you would expect after the last two games. What are your thoughts on Cameron Lewis and the men whose minutes he’s taking, Jack Eggleston and Justin Reilly? Should Lewis continue to start?

As always, leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Here are my third Ivy Rankings installment. The number in parentheses is how far everyone’s RPI has risen or fallen since the last edition.

1. Brown [8-6; Previous Ranking: 3; RPI: 90 (+29)]
The Bears are still playing well despite a loss to Baylor, and Damon Huffman continues to be one of the League’s top scorers.

2. Cornell [6-5; Previous Ranking: 1; RPI: 123(-5)]
A 14-point loss to Duke won’t lose Cornell many points. Point guard Louis Dale is creating a lot of buzz around the League.

3. Harvard [6-11, 1-0 Ivy; Previous Ranking: 4; RPI: 281 (+20)]
Tommy Amaker’s roster changes are helping Harvard score, and the Crimson enter Friday’s rematch with Dartmouth riding two straight blowout wins.

4. Columbia [6-8; Previous Ranking: 2; RPI: 215(-12)]
Two steps forward (beating Lehigh), one step back (losing to American). Ben Nwachukwu might finally be picking up steam.

5. Yale [5-8; Previous Ranking: 6; RPI: 166 (-8)]
Another underwhelming week for Yale against three underwhelming teams; thumping 2-15 Longwood doesn’t prove much.

6. Penn [5-9; Previous Ranking: 8; RPI: 270 (-15)]
A bad loss (Miami) and a bad win (NJIT) were two more steps back for Penn this week. Continued struggles at point guard negate Lewis’s hot streak.

7. Princeton [2-12; Previous Ranking: 5; RPI: 309 (-18)]
A blown lead and overtime loss to Lafayette is a tough way to drop a record 12th straight game. Look for Sydney Johnson to shake things up even more than he already has to get the Tigers out of their historic funk.

8. Dartmouth [5-8, 0-1 Ivy; Previous Ranking: 7; RPI: 262 (-21)]
Dartmouth’s only game this week was that disaster against Harvard, so it drops into the cellar for the time being.

With a team as young as Penn — starting five freshmen at one point or another — playing in any building other than the Palestra will be tough.

The Red and Blue started their away schedule off on a sour note, getting blown out by Loyola in Baltimore. The Quakers then fell to Lafayette earlier this week, in a game they probably should have won, but one that it is hardly a surprise that they didn’t.

After edging the Quakers in overtime at the Palestra in the season opener, Drexel coach Bruiser Flint knew the Red and Blue would be two different teams on the home and road this season.

“[If I was coaching Penn, I’d know] my team is going to be really good at home, I just have to get them to play pretty good on the road, because they’re young,” Flint said after the win. As a young team they can sneak some home wins, but they just have to be able to play well on the road. “As a young team, [they] have to be able to play with some poise on the road.”

Penn’s game against No. 22 Villanova will no doubt be a tough one. But even if the Quakers lose (and they likely will) this is an instance where a moral victory does, indeed count. Penn has always had trouble playing on the road, for whatever reason, and staying with a borderline top-25 team would be a big step in being able to win games down the road away from the comforts of 33rd street.