Big 5 Men’s Basketball in Philadelphia: Sunday’s Odds, Spread, and Totals

Two of the Philadelphia area's classic Big 5 teams will be in action on Sunday. The St. Joseph's Hawks will kick off the action at 12 p.m. EST when they host the Arcadia Patriots. Later on in the day, the Pennsylvania Quakers will play on the road against the George Mason Patriots in Virginia. With quality matchups for both teams, there is a good chance that Big 5 basketball goes undefeated on the day.

Most fans have not heard of Arcadia University, and that is for good reason. It is a tiny private university in Pennsylvania that has a grand total of just over 3,000 students. Predictably, the Knights do not field much of a basketball team, but the start of the season has been somewhat kind to them, with the team earning a 5-4 record so far. Unfortunately, each of those wins has come against schools just as small as Arcadia, so a game against St. Joseph's will be a massive step up on Sunday.

The Hawks have played some mediocre competition, but they also have some impressive showings in games against a higher level of competition. A win against Temple and a close loss to Penn show that St. Joseph's team is dealing with a lot more talent than the Knights are, which should be enough to allow the Hawks to cruise to a victory in this contest.

Despite a recent rough patch of games, there is plenty to be optimistic about for the Quakers. Penn's most recent defeat was a nail-biting defeat that saw the Rutgers Scarlet Knights survive by a single point, showing that the Quakers have what it takes to tangle with much bigger, more talented programs. Even more encouraging is the fact that the typically accurate Penn lineup shot only 24% from deep and still managed to keep things close. Another difficult test awaits them in an 11-1 George Mason team on Sunday, so the Quakers will need their shooting touch to return if they are to reasonably expect a different result.

The Patriots, much like their NFL counterpart that shares the same name, have been a pleasant surprise in the Atlantic 10 conference. Their 11-1 record is slightly inflated thanks to a couple of meetings with terrible teams, but wins over Florida Atlantic and Loyola Maryland highlight the stronger end of the record. Guard Koy Mincy has been absurdly good, averaging 18.1 points per game while shooting 48.5% from beyond the three-point line. Three other players average more than 10 points per contest, making George Mason a well-rounded, dangerous offensive team. It is likely that they engage in another shootout with Penn on Sunday.