Drexel vs. Saint Joseph's, Picks and Prediction, Saturday, November 8, 2025
Use Code WWWC The Big Five Classic features Drexel (1-0) against Saint Joseph's (1-0) on Saturday from Michael J. Hagan Arena at 1pmET. These teams have not met since 2021 when the Dragons won by three points. Check out this Drexel vs. Saint Joe's prediction in Saturday's action from Philadelphia. Need quality College basketball predictions? This is the ultimate site for basketball winners.
Drexel meets first Division I opponent
Many teams in Division I like to open the season by playing a non-Division I opponent. The Dragons opened their season with a 93-59 win over Widener, a Division III school from nearby Chester, Pa. Josh Reed led the Dragons with 17 points and 12 rebounds with four assists. Garfield Turner added 14 points on 7-of-7 shooting in just 11 minutes of action. The only downside for Drexel was their three-point shooting (8-of-32).
Drexel returns just one starter from an 18-15 team last season, who went 9-9 in the CAA. They lost most of their key players in the portal, but they do return junior combo guard Shane Blakeney (6-5, 200, who averaged 7.5 points and 3.6 rebounds last year coming off the bench. Turner is a 6-8, 250-pound forward who averaged 5.1 points and 4.6 rebounds in 2023-24 and was injured last season. Reed is a 6-2 sophomore guard, who played sparingly as a freshman and will need to step up in place of stars Yame Butler (13.6ppg), Kobe Magee (14ppg, 5.6rpg) and Jason Drake (11.1ppg).
Last season, KenPom had the Dragons 183rd overall, 224th (104.0) in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency and 153rd in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency.
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Hawks hope to fly again this season
Last year, Saint Joe's finished 22-13 and 11-7 in the A-10. Billy Lange returns two starters from that team, led by 6-3 senior guard Derek Simpson (8.7ppg, 3.6apg) and 6-8, 235-pound wing Anthony Finkley (7.1ppg, 39.6% 3pt). Xzavier Brown (17.6ppg) left for the transfer portal and Rasheer Fleming (14.7ppg, 8.5rpg) was drafted in the first round by Phoenix.
The Hawks won their opener at home, defeating Lafayette 85-76. Six-foot-four sophomore guard Jaiden Glover-Toscano led the way with 23 points, nine rebounds and four assists, while Finkley added 15 points on 4-of-9 shooting. Glover-Toscano is a St. John's transfer who averaged 2.2ppg in 22 games for the Red Storm last season., It was a struggle for 6-2 guard Deuce Jones, a transfer from La Salle, who averaged 12.5 points last season on 39.7% shooting. He went 1-for-10 from the field and 0-for-3 from three-point range, scoring two points in his first game with Saint Joseph's.
Last season, Saint Joe's finished 85th overall on KenPom, 116th in Adjusted offensive efficiency and 66th in Adjusted Defense. They do need to improve their shooting, which ranked 226th last season (43.8%) and 202nd in three-point percentage (33.5%).
Drexel vs. Saint Joe's Pick
Spread Pick for Drexel vs. Saint Joseph's
- Drexel to cover
Drexel plays methodically and that's the type of style that can slow down a team that wants to run. Blakeney is a talented player who could become a star in the CAA. They have the size to compete with the Hawks thanks to the 6-8, 250-pound Tuner, who is similar to last season's big man Cole Hargrove. It's still early, so both teams will be feeling each other out and both teams lost some key players. Yet nobody lost a player as talented as Rasheer Fleming and that's a huge loss for the Hawks.
Total for Drexel vs. Saint Joe's
- Under
The Hawks are more about the pace of play, while Drexel finished 355th last season in pace of play, which is one of the lowest numbers in the nation. Drexel finished 3-0 Under in their last three games and five of their last six under in the regular season. Drexel's defense was solid last season as it held opponents to 44.7% shooting from the field. They were also outstanding against the three-point shot, holding teams to just 31.1% from long range.
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