Big 5 Classic

For the association of these college athletic programs, see Philadelphia Big 5.

Big 5 Classic

Philadelphia Big 5 logo
Sport	College basketball
Founded	2023 (men's) 2024 (women's)
No. of teams	6
Country	United States
Headquarters	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Venue(s)	Wells Fargo Center (men's) Finneran Pavilion (women's)
Most recent champion(s)	Saint Joseph's (men's) Temple (women's)
TV partner(s)	NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus, Peacock
Sponsor(s)	MHS Lift (2023) Toyota (2024–present)
Official website	big5classic.com

The Big 5 Classic, officially known as the Toyota Big 5 Classic for sponsorship reasons, is an annual early-season college basketball tournament and showcase featuring the six member schools of the Philadelphia Big 5—Drexel, La Salle, Penn, Saint Joseph's, Temple, and Villanova. The tournament begins in November with pod play and concludes on the first weekend in December with triple-headers for the men's and women's competitions.

Before 2023, the Big 5 members played each other once annually in a round-robin format, determining the champion as the school(s) with the best record in Big 5 play. In January 2023, administrators from the five member schools agreed on a new format for the men's Big 5 play. This included the creation of the concluding triple-header, the Big 5 Classic, and the addition of Drexel University to the series. The motivation behind this change was to "resuscitate" the Big 5, as the series had experienced declining attendance figures in the preceding years.

In the new format, the six schools are divided into two pods: Pod 1 includes Drexel, La Salle, and Temple, while Pod 2 features Penn, Saint Joseph's, and Villanova. Throughout November, before the Big 5 Classic in December, round-robin play occurs within each pod, with each team playing the other two teams in their pod. After pod play, the series moves to the Wells Fargo Center for the Big 5 Classic, a single-day, triple-header event with three games, held on the first Saturday in December. The first game is the 5th place game, featuring the two teams that finished third in each pod; the second game is the 3rd place game, featuring the two teams that finished second in each pod, and the final game is the championship game, featuring the two teams that finished first in each pod. The winner of the championship game is the champion of the Big 5 for that season. Tiebreaker rules for pod placement are currently unknown, but a local media source speculated that NET rankings, which are not public in late November, would be used if necessary.

In June 2024, the athletic directors of the Big 5 member schools introduced the women's edition of the Big 5 Classic. The women's showcase follows the same pod and scheduling structure as the men's, however, the women's Big 5 Classic is held on the day before, the first Friday in December, and takes place at the Finneran Pavilion in Villanova, Pennsylvania.

Brackets

Men

2023

Campus-site games

Campus-site games were hosted by the team listed second below.

Pod 1

	November 7 ESPN+
	Drexel	61
	La Salle	67

	November 14 NBCSP, FloHoops
	Temple	66
	Drexel	64

	November 29 ESPN+
	La Salle	99
	Temple	106***

* – Denotes overtime period

Pod 2

	November 10 NBCSP, ESPN+
	Penn	61
	Saint Joseph's	69

	November 13 NBCSP, ESPN+
	No. 21 Villanova	72
	Penn	76

	November 29 FS1
	Saint Joseph's	78
	No. 18 Villanova	65

Standings

Pod 1
Pos	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	Temple	2	0	1.000	–
2	La Salle	1	1	.500	1
3	Drexel	0	2	.000	2

	Advanced to the Big 5 Classic Championship

Pod 2
Pos	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	Saint Joseph's	2	0	1.000	–
2	Penn	1	1	.500	1
3	Villanova	0	2	.000	2

Big 5 Classic

All games were played at the Wells Fargo Center on December 2.

	5th Place Game 2:00 PM EST NBCSP+, Peacock
	Drexel	57
	No. 18 Villanova	55

	3rd Place Game 4:45 PM EST NBCSP+, Peacock
	Penn	92
	La Salle	93*

	Championship 7:30 PM EST NBCSP+, Peacock
	Temple	65
	Saint Joseph’s	74

* – Denotes overtime period

2024

Campus-site games

Campus-site games were hosted by the team listed second below.

Pod 1

	November 12 ESPN+
	Drexel	61
	Temple	69

	November 16 FloHoops
	La Salle	71
	Drexel	68

	November 30 ESPN+
	Temple	75
	La Salle	83

Pod 2

	November 12 CBSSN
	Villanova	76
	Saint Joseph's	83

	November 15 ESPN+
	Saint Joseph's	86
	Penn	69

	November 19 Peacock
	Penn	49
	Villanova	93

Standings

Pod 1
Pos	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	La Salle	2	0	1.000	–
2	Temple	1	1	.500	1
3	Drexel	0	2	.000	2

	Advanced to the Big 5 Classic Championship

Pod 2
Pos	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	Saint Joseph's	2	0	1.000	–
2	Villanova	1	1	.500	1
3	Penn	0	2	.000	2

Big 5 Classic

All games will be played at the Wells Fargo Center on December 7.

	5th Place Game 2:00 PM EST NBCSP+, Peacock
	Penn	47
	Drexel	60

	3rd Place Game 4:30 PM EST NBCSP+, Peacock
	Villanova	94
	Temple	65

	Championship 7:00 PM EST NBCSP+, Peacock
	Saint Joseph's	82
	La Salle	68

Women

2024

Campus-site games

Campus-site games were hosted by the team listed second below.

Pod 1

	November 13
	La Salle	40
	Drexel	73

	November 23 ESPN+
	Drexel	43
	Temple	52

	December 1 ESPN+
	Temple	73
	La Salle	68

Pod 2

	November 15 ESPN+
	Saint Joseph's	68
	Penn	57

	November 20
	Penn	64
	Villanova	80

	December 1 ESPN+
	Villanova	81
	Saint Joseph's	65

Standings

Pod 1
Pos	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	Temple	2	0	1.000	–
2	Drexel	1	1	.500	1
3	La Salle	0	2	.000	2

	Advanced to the Big 5 Classic Championship

Pod 2
Pos	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	Villanova	2	0	1.000	–
2	Saint Joseph's	1	1	.500	1
3	Penn	0	2	.000	2

Big 5 Classic

All games were played at the Finneran Pavilion on December 6.

	5th Place Game 3:30 PM EST NBCSP+, Peacock
	La Salle	63
	Penn	74

	3rd Place Game 5:45 PM EST NBCSP+, Peacock
	Drexel	47
	Saint Joseph's	69

	Championship 8:00 PM EST NBCSP+, Peacock
	Temple	76
	Villanova	62

External links

• Official website