Drexel drops the 'Cuse

Just how good are the Drexel Dragons? Some thought it was a huge upset two weeks ago when Drexel beat Villanova on its home floor. Now Drexel has followed that win with another victory, an 84-79 decision over #23 Syracuse in the Carrier Dome.

The Dragons have won five in a row, and are clearly playing better basketball now than one month ago when they lost back-to-back games to Penn and Rider.

If Drexel continues to play this well as it enters the heart of its schedule, 'Nova's loss to the Dragons may not seem bad at all come Tournament time.

Drexel stuns 'Nova at home

Villanova fell to the Drexel Dragons tonight at the Pavilion, 81-76. This is the first time that Drexel has ever beaten Villanova. Villanova had a 17-0 record against the Dragons all time before losing tonight.

Despite shooting well from the field at a clip of 54 percent, Villanova could not stop the Drexel offense, especially down the stretch. 'Nova also gave up 25 free throws to Drexel, which sank 22 of them.

This is a bad loss for Villanova, who just three days ago was riding high after beating Oklahoma on the road. As a loss at home to a lowly-regarded Colonial Athletic Conference team, the defeat tonight at the hands of Drexel can only be seen as a huge setback to our NCAA hopes.

Forget being ranked any time in 2006. It's going to be an uphill battle from this point on to regain any semblance of national swagger. If we wind up on the NCAA bubble come March, this loss could come back to haunt us. Hopefully, it will not be an issue, though, if we get back on track.

Radio for tonight

Tonight, Villanova takes on Philly-area rival Drexel at the Pavilion at 7:30 p.m.

[update] Drexel's radio broadcast was of such low quality that I had to find another option for you. Here is WXVU's broadcast -- You can listen with iTunes.

The only real radio option, aside from Villanova's dreadful "CSTV," is a RealMedia stream from the Drexel broadcast. You can find that stream here -- remember, RealPlayer in required.