Fresh off its biggest win of the season, Villanova hopes to ride the momentum into its matchup against Temple on Saturday in Philadelphia.
The Wildcats and Owls are meeting as part of the Big 5 Classic, which features the six Division I programs in the Philadelphia area. Villanova and Temple each finished second in their three-school round-robin pod and will play in the second of three games at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday before La Salle and Saint Joseph’s vie for the Big 5 championship.
The Wildcats (5-4) have had a bit of a frustrating season to this point, as they’ve suffered a major upset at the hands of Columbia, lost to archrival Saint Joseph’s and fell to Maryland by a point through the first month of the campaign.
However, things finally clicked Tuesday against No. 14 Cincinnati as Villanova knocked down 40 percent of its 3-pointers (8 of 20) and suffocated the Bearcats defensively in a 68-60 win. Eric Dixon led the way with 31 points, raising his scoring average to 25.9 — second in the nation entering Friday’s action.
“I’m not going to lie,” Dixon said. “It’s nice to win. But that doesn’t change the fact that we have to come back and get better.”
Wildcats point guard Jhamir Brickus added 13 points and a season-high nine assists without committing a turnover. Temple will certainly have its eye on him defensively, as Brickus scored 41 points against the Owls last season while playing for La Salle in a 106-99 Temple victory in triple overtime.
Temple (4-3) coincidentally just lost to La Salle in its last contest, 83-75 — its third defeat in the last four games. Quante Berry stood out with 18 points and 15 rebounds in a losing effort on Nov. 30.
“They kicked our butt from start to finish,” Temple coach Adam Fisher said, adding that “we’ve got plenty more games to go. We’ve got to regroup.”
Jamal Mashburn Jr. is Temple’s leading scorer at 22.1 points per game, followed by Steve Settle III (13.1) and Zion Stanford (10.4). Settle is posting team bests in 7.1 rebounds per game and 2.3 assists per game.
Wooga Poplar follows Dixon in scoring average for Villanova at 12.4 points per game, with Brickus just behind at 12.2. Poplar is the top rebounder at 6.7 per game, with Dixon next at 6.6. Brickus is dishing a team-high five assists per game.
Villanova leads the all-time series with Temple, 50-43, although the Owls won the last matchup 68-64 on Nov. 11, 2022.
–Field Level Media
