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Villanova Men's Basketball

Villanova Crushes Temple, Secures Third Place in Big Five Classic

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Villanova Wildcats forward Eric Dixon (43) March 20, 2022 David Hague/PSN

Villanova Men’s Basketball secured third place in the second annual Big Five Classic on Saturday, Dec. 7, collecting an easy 94-65 win over the Temple Owls at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center.

The Wildcats made 58.5 percent of their shots, their best mark of the season, including a blistering 19-of-30 from three. Eric Dixon sank five shots from beyond the arc, while Tyler Perkins and Wooga Poplar netted four apiece.

Dixon scored 24 points in all, Jhamir Brickus added seven assists and Perkins put up 12 points off the bench, one of four Wildcats to hit double digits as Villanova flirted with the century mark.

While Villanova has yet to claim a Big Five championship since the new format began last season, they now ride a three game winning streak that includes an upset of the No. 14 team in the country.

Villanova never trailed, extending their lead to 21-8 early with a flurry of threes out of the under 15 media timeout. Temple managed to close within single digits, highlighted by a Jamal Mashburn Jr. three that made it 24-18, but they came no closer.

The Wildcats kept it up from downtown in the second half, draining 11 of 16 threes to comfortably outpace Temple.

Despite the tidy win, there’s still plenty these Wildcats can do to improve. They turned the Owls over just seven times, coughing the basketball up 12 times themselves. Perkins and Enoch Boakye both landed in foul trouble in limited action, whistled for four each in 19 and 15 minutes, respectively.

That turned into 29 shots from the charity stripe for Temple, although the Owls made just 18 of their attempts in what has been a trend for Villanova opponents this season… perhaps because of how the Wildcats’ student section managed to crowd Wells Fargo Center.

Villanova improves to 6-4 on the season. Next on their schedule is a Wednesday, Dec. 11 home date with Fairleigh Dickinson, their last nonconference matchup of 2024.

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