Philly Area Shut Out Of March Madness For First Time In Half A Century

SOUTHEASTERN PA — In the wake of the Phillies World Series run, the Eagles Super Bowl appearance, and with the Sixers hot on the heels of an elusive NBA title, we may be living in a new golden age of Philadelphia sports.

But the same can't be said for another level of competition which has become an iconic part of the region's sports scene itself: men's college basketball.

The final brackets for the 2023 NCAA Division 1 Tournment were released Sunday, and they included no Philadelphia area schools for the first time since 1977. Not since the early days of the Carter administration has no member of the City 6 danced in March Madness.

The good news is that Villanova's women's team is a 4th seed, and they'll play Cleveland State on Saturday as the favorites.

For men, this year's bracket is an unfamiliar sight. In down years, there's always been at least one representative of the informal group of schools that makes it, one of St. Joseph's, Villanova, Temple, Drexel, Penn, and La Salle.

St. Joseph's finished the year 16-19, La Salle 15-19, Temple 16-16, Drexel 17-15, Penn 17-13, and Nova 17-16. Penn probably had the best chance, but was skipped over after losing to Princeton in the Ivy League conference championships.

Villanova has won two national titles in the last 7 years, and deep tourney runs from both SJU and Temple are in recent memory.

But 2023 a dismal year for Pennsylvania at large. None of the Lehigh Valley schools made it either. The only Pennsylvania school with a guarenteed berth is Penn State, which is the 10th seed in the midwest region. They'll play Texas on Thursday as underdogs.

Meanwhile, the University of Pittsburgh will play Mississipi State in the play-in game for the 11th seed in the midwest.

In the highly unlikely event that Penn State wins two games as a heavy underdog and Pitt wins three, they would open a new chapter of their intrastate rivalry and face off in the Sweet 16.