Temple-Villanova to Square off in Big 5 Classic at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday

Game Info: Saturday, December 7 - 4:30 p.m.
Location: Wells Fargo Center - Philadelphia, Pa.
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia | Listen: Owlsports.com/listen | Live Stats: Stat Broadcast | Temple Game Notes

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OPENING TIP

Temple men's basketball will face Villanova for the 96th matchup between the two schools on Saturday afternoon inside Wells Fargo Center.
The two teams will compete for third place in the Big Five Classic. Temple placed second last season while Villanova finished sixth.
In their last matchup, the Owls defeated the No. 16 Wildcats, 68-64, at the Liacouras Center during the 2022-23 season.
Damian Dunn sealed the win with late free throws, finishing with 22 points.
This was the first time Temple had defeated Villanova in a decade and the first time the team beat a ranked opponent in over two years, when Temple downed No. 16 Wichita State in 2019-20.
Temple enters the Big Five Classic following a tight 83-75 loss to La Salle on November 30.
Quante Berry recorded the first double-double of his career with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Each of these marks were career bests.
Temple took an early 9-5 lead behind Berry's strong start, but La Salle responded with an 11-0 run and held a 42-33 halftime advantage.
The Explorers extended their lead to 63-48 before the Owls rallied, pulling within four on Berry's layup with under two minutes left.
Despite the comeback attempt, La Salle secured the win with late free throws and a fast-break layup.
Following the game Saturday, the Owls return home for the first time in nearly a month to host Holy Family on Tuesday, Dec. 10.

BERRY BUCKETS

Quante Berry delivered a standout performance against La Salle, scoring 18 points and grabbing 15 rebounds, both career-highs.
This effort marked his first career double-double and the second by an Owl this season.
The guard from the Volunteer State also set personal bests with eight made field goals and two blocks.

ABOUT THE WILDCATS

Villanova (5-4) defeated Cincinnati 68-60 in its last outing, led by Eric Dixon's 31 points and Wooga Poplar's 12-point, 10-rebound double-double.
The Wildcats, who shot an NCAA-best 80% from the free-throw line last season, were picked seventh in the Big East preseason poll.
This year's team includes nine newcomers, highlighted by Poplar, a Preseason All-Big East Second Team pick, and Dixon, who earned First Team honors after averaging 16.6 points and 6.5 rebounds last season.
Point guard Jhamir Brickus, who scored 41 points in a triple-overtime game against Temple last year as a member of La Salle's team, had 13 points and nine assists with no turnovers against Cincinnati.
The team is led by Head Coach Kyle Neptune who is in his third season as head coach of the Wildcats.

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