Nearly a year ago, Villanova shot the lights out in a record-setting victory over Temple.
The Owls will try to contain the host Wildcats’ high-powered offense when the Philadelphia Big 5 rivals meet on Monday.
Villanova (5-1) has looked strong offensively in the early going, averaging 83.3 points per game with five players chipping in double-digit points on the young season.
The Wildcats made 22 3-pointers in a resounding win over Sacred Heart on Nov. 11. In the process, they broke the school record they set against Temple last December, when the team buried 19 3-pointers in a 94-65 rout.
“Going into it, we wanted to take away their threes,” Temple coach Adam Fisher said that day. “Over 50% of their shot attempts come from three. They made shots. We didn’t execute.”
This time around, Villanova is without many of the players who starred in last year’s matchup. However, Tyler Perkins is back — and he’s rounding into form.
After scoring exactly eight points in each of the first four games this season, Perkins has totaled 34 in the last two contests. He scored 21 points in Tuesday’s 89-75 win over Old Dominion, as the Wildcats prevailed without Duke Brennan (sprained ankle), the nation’s leading rebounder at 14.4 boards per game.
“That’s something we’re still not very good at because we just haven’t had time to practice it,” Villanova coach Kevin Willard said of playing small in Brennan’s absence. “The more we practice it, the more comfortable we’ll get with five guys out there who can shoot, pass and dribble.”
Meanwhile, Temple (4-3) is looking to avoid losing back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Owls fell to Rhode Island 90-75 on Wednesday despite 18 points from AJ Smith.
“Our defense has got to improve. We’ve got to get better,” Fisher said. “I’m really disappointed.”
The winner of this game will advance to the Big 5 Classic on Dec. 6 against Penn. The Philadelphia-based tournament features six local schools, including Saint Joseph’s, which has won the event in each of its first two years.
