Countdown is on | Sports Daily Newsletter

It’s a sentimental time of year in college basketball, as players across the nation play with the knowledge that each game could be their last in their respective uniforms. Count a pair of Villanova stalwarts — Caleb Daniels and Brandon Slater — among those ranks this season.

The grad students, who currently are using their extra year of eligibility, took different paths to the Wildcats, but they’ve been a steadying force on a team that’s experienced more than a few ups and downs as it tries to crack the 68-team NCAA Tournament field.

Those Big Dance hopes may be dim, but Slater offered some wisdom as Villanova prepares for the Big East tournament, which for them begins today against No. 11 seed Georgetown.

“It’s coming down to the wire and obviously for a second it comes in your mind and you want to reflect on it but you can’t,” Slater said. “It’s not fair to the rest of the players. It’s not fair to Cam [Whitmore], Mark [Armstrong], Brendan [Hausen], who have been here for one year, to think about that just yet. It definitely comes in my mind, but when that happens, I just got to remind myself: ‘Hey, look. I’m still here. I’m still playing. I still have opportunities. I still got time.’”

For more from Jeff Neiburg, click here.

— Maria McIlwain, Inquirer Sports Staff, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

❓Do you think Villanova can win the Big East tournament? Why or why not? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

The college basketball tournament is almost here, and that means it’s almost time to play The Inquirer’s Bracket Jawn. Fill out one bracket per tournament (men’s and women’s) by noon ET on March 16 for a chance to win one of two $1,000 Visa gift cards.

The Eagles were not among the teams to take action ahead of Tuesday’s 4 p.m. franchise tag deadline, the team electing not to tag C.J. Gardner-Johnson, James Bradberry, or Javon Hargrave.

The Eagles could have applied the tag to any of the three, which would require the team to pay the average of the five highest-paid players at their position to the player for one season. The Eagles, who are short on cap space and need to sign Jalen Hurts to a long-term extension, now have to wait until March 13, the day free agency opens, to sign any of their pending free agents.

The Baltimore Ravens were one of the teams to apply the franchise tag, using it on quarterback Lamar Jackson after failing to agree to a contract extension with the former NFL MVP. Speaking of the Ravens, they also hired former Eagles defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson to the same role, after Wilson was controversially fired over the weekend.

The early results of baseball’s new pitch clock are nothing short of staggering. On the opening weekend of spring training, the average game time was a mere 2 hours and 38 minutes, down from 3:01 a year earlier. That’s a difference of 23 minutes, a reduction of 12.7%. In the context of a regular-season night game, it’s going to bed at 9:45 p.m. versus 10:10. The secret sauce is enforcement. Without consequences, there are no rules, and without rules, there is no order. Two weeks of exhibition play suggest that Major League Baseball is doing what it needs to do to make this rule make a difference.

Bailey Falter likes to remember where he came from, and he knows he could be back there at any moment. Falter is using that perspective in his bid to make the roster and win the fifth starter job.

Phillies pitching prospect Griff McGarry found success in his second spring outing by trying to slow things down.

Next: The Phillies have an off day on Wednesday. They will play the Orioles 1:05 p.m. Thursday at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla. The game will be televised on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

James Harden has been on a tear over the last four games, putting together big numbers and serving performances that remind onlookers of his Houston Rockets days.

And, as The Inquirer’s Keith Pompey notes, when Harden plays like this it becomes clear why he is the key to their title hopes.

Owen Tippett has been a bright spot amid a trying season for the Flyers, the young winger having already set career-highs in goals (18) and points (33).

Fans looking for more Tippett seem to be getting their wish, as the winger has logged at least 24 minutes over the past two games, including a career-high 27:40 last Wednesday. That trend is expected to continue, as John Tortorella is running with seven defensemen and only 11 forwards for the moment.

Next: The Flyers are back in action Thursday on the road against old pal Shayne Gostisbehere and the Carolina Hurricanes (7 p.m., NBCSP).

If two Ivy Leaguers have their way, the whole premise of how the Ivy League awards scholarships to athletes could get flipped on its head.

On Tuesday, a class-action lawsuit filed in the United States District Court of Connecticut wants to modify the Ivy League’s system of awarding financial aid to athletes only on the basis of financial need.

Modify is too light. More like eradicate.

The suit, brought to light by two basketball players from Brown (one current, one former), alleges that under what is termed “the Ivy League agreement,” not awarding athletic scholarships “constitutes unlawful price fixing in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.”

Mike Jensen has more on the filings — and what’s slated to happen next.

Additionally, we have a pair of Player of the Year award winners in men’s and women’s college hoops, in addition to a good day on the court for Philly’s Atlantic 10 men’s hoops representatives, La Salle and St. Joe’s.

Well, he did it.

Union manager Jim Curtin rotated his players in El Salvador, starting youngsters Quinn Sullivan, Chris Donovan, and recent signees Joaquín Torres and Andres Perea.

The result was a flurry of missed early chances by Donovan, but the team generally showed well and pulled off a scoreless draw.

Jonathan Tannenwald analyzed the lessons learned from the Concacaf Champions League clash.

We asked: How many former Eagles coaches and assistants are now head coaches in the NFL?

Answer: C. 10. Shane Steichen, Jonathan Gannon, Andy Reid, Doug Pederson, Sean McDermott, John Harbaugh, Sean Payton, Frank Reich, Ron Rivera, Todd Bowles.

We asked: Are the Sixers for real and ready for a deep playoff run? Among your responses:

No. Throughout much of their history, going back to Wilt, the Sixers have played well in the regular season only to flame out in the playoffs. I don’t see this outfit as doing anything different. — Karl Z.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Jeff Neiburg, EJ Smith, David Murphy, Alex Coffey, Keith Pompey, Olivia Reiner, Mike Jensen, Lochlahn March, Isabella DiAmore, and Jonathan Tannenwald.