Photos: Ryan Nix & Mike Nance
By: Jeremy Goode
PHILADELPHIA - The 2025 Big 5 Men’s Classic certainly was different from the traditional Big 5 games of the past. The Big 5 is in their third year of holding the Big 5 Classic, a triple header between the six Philadelphia schools determining placement in the Big 5 for that year based on pod games they played a week or two before.
Long gone are the days of the round-robin format, in which every Philadelphia-based team played each other, as the winner was determined by who finished with the best record among the Big 5.
Two pods, three teams per pod, and each team played two teams that placed them in the appropriate game during the Big 5 Classic.
While it is a change for longtime Big 5 college basketball lovers, it did not faze Kevin Willard in his first year at Villanova.
Villanova outscored Penn 34-16 in the paint, while Penn only shot 33 percent from beyond the arc, and 4-12 from the free throw line.
“We don’t ever get too high or too low,” Penn head coach Fran McCaffery said. “This was a learning opportunity; we played a really good team. We did some good things; we did not do enough of them. We’ll get better.”
Game Highlights: Villanova vs. Penn 2025 Big 5 Championship
The first-year Villanova head coach already has a trophy nearly a month into the 2025-26 season, as his team steamrolled Penn 90-63 at the Xfinity Mobile Arena on Sat., Dec. 6 to win its first Big 5 Classic.
Graduate student Devin Askew, who is at his last stop at Villanova after playing at Kentucky, Texas, and California, was quite candid about his knowledge of Big 5 basketball coming into this season, after scoring a game high 17 points on 7-12 shooting.
“Yeah, I’ve never heard of it,” Askew said. “But I’m just honored to be able to put on a Villanova jersey and get a win in the big 5. So, it means a lot, and I know it means a lot to everyone in Philly.”
The switch to Willard came at a needed time for the university.
After two-time national champion head coach Jay Wright retired at the end of the 2022 season, right after a Final Four run, Villanova replaced Wright with his assistant, Kyle Neptune. The program did not see a continuation in success from coach to coach.
In Neptune’s three seasons at Villanova, he finished 17-17, 18-16, and 19-14, while never reaching the NCAA tournament.
2025 Big 5 Classic Championship - PSD Photos by Mike Nance
2025 Big 5 Classic Championship - PSD Photos by Ryan Nix
So, Villanova is still looking for that Wright replacement.
Eight games in at Villanova, and the school might have found it in Willard.
In fact, so far this season, it does not seem like anything has fazed Willard since transitioning to Villanova after three strong years at Maryland.
Since an opening season loss to ninth ranked BYU, Villanova has won seven straight, including wins against La Salle, Old Dominion, and Temple.
Against Penn, Villanova shot the ball well from all over, but they were not able to really separate themselves, trading off baskets and holding onto two-basket leads for the most part while giving up seven three-pointers to Penn. With nearly six minutes left in the first half, Villanova locked down on both ends, ending the first half on a 17-2 run and leading at halftime, 44-29.
“I told them next guy who gives up a three again is never playing again,” Willard said.
Whether or not Willard was speaking tongue-in-cheek, his message got through. Duke Brennan finished the half shooting 6-8 for 12 points. Matt Hodge and Askew combined for five three-pointers.
Villanova finished the first half on 60 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
They took the momentum from the end of the first half into the second half, as they expanded their lead to 25 five minutes into the second half. They scored three three-pointers in a row from Bryce Lindsay. Lindsay picked up the scoring in the second half, scoring 17 after just making one free throw in the first 20 minutes.
Brennan and Askew made sure to close out Penn early, as they combined for over a third of Villanova’s points. Villanova has several younger players, and Brennan and Askew made it a point before the season to help lead them on and off the court, while also helping to get the most out of the newer players.
Devin Askew, Kevin Willard, and Duke Brennan on the Team's Early Success
TJ Power and Fran McCaffery Using Villanova as a Measuring Stick
T.J Power and Fran McCaffery on Villanova's Ability to Hit Shots
“Me and Dev [Askew] are both seniors here at Villanova,” Brennan said. “We have freshman and sophomores on the court with us, so building that chemistry is super important. We’re continuing it now; pushing, winning games, stacking wins, so it is going to be an ongoing thing throughout the season.”
Villanova finished the game shooting 55 percent from the field and 48.4 percent from three.
Penn’s TJ Power, Cam Thrower, and Michael Zanoni all scored 11 points for the Quakers. Ethan Roberts, the leading scorer for Penn averaging 18 points, was held scoreless, in large part because he left the game late in the first half to go to the hospital for an undisclosed injury.