Wildcats to Host Big Five Rival Temple Monday Evening

 
VILLANOVA, Pa. – With the Thanksgiving vacation within the rear-view mirror and Christmas on the horizon, Villanova will get again to its schedule with a pair of key Philadelphia Big Five matchups this week. That stretch kicks off Monday evening at Finneran Pavilion when the Wildcats (5-1 general, 1-0 Big Five) hosts Temple (4-3 general, 1-0 Big Five) within the closing pod sport of this 12 months’s occasion.
 
The winner advances to Saturday evening’s championship sport of the Big Five Classic at Xfinity Mobile Arena towards Penn (2-0 Big Five). The different squad will compete within the second sport of the tripleheader Saturday afternoon in South Philadelphia.
 
A restricted variety of tickets stay obtainable for Monday evening. Click on the hyperlink on the high of the web page for extra data.
 
The Wildcats carry a five-game successful streak with them into this matchup and so they have been particularly potent within the pleasant confines of Finneran Pavilion, the place they’ve averaged 91.0 ppg throughout 4 video games. They pulled away from Old Dominion within the second half of an 89-75 victory Tuesday evening.
 
Junior guard Tyler Perkins loved his best statistical evening in that one, delivering 21 factors on 8-of-13 taking pictures from the sphere, together with 3-of-4 from past the 3-point arc. After scoring eight factors in every of his first 4 video games of the 2025-26 common season, the 6-4 native of Lorton, Va., averaged 17.0 ppg in his final two outings. He is one among 5 Wildcats scoring in double figures this season (11.0 ppg, alongside Bryce Lindsay, Acaden Lewis, Matt Hodge and Duke Brennan).
 
“Tyler just gives us great energy,” stated Villanova head coach Kevin Willard. “I think he’s still trying to figure out what he’s doing and what we need him to do.”
 
With Villanova holding a 40-36 halftime lead towards ODU, Perkins helped ignite a 7-0 burst to begin the second half that allowed the Wildcats to seize maintain of the sport.
 
“To start the second half, he gets two big steals, a layup and another pass. Tyler gives us energy and toughness. I think he’s starting to figure out, ‘how do I play in this system?'”
 
These two groups met on the Big Five Classic on the Wells Fargo Center final December. The Wildcats notched a 94-65 victory partly as a result of they tied a program document by sinking 19 from past the 3-point arc. That document was eclipsed on Nov. 11, when the ‘Cats poured in 22 from distance in a 94-60 win over Sacred Heart.
 
Then Owls’ guard Zion Stanford scored 11 factors in that matchup.
 
Temple opened its season by successful three of 4 at residence, together with a 94-60 win over La Salle in its first Big Five duel. Most not too long ago, it picked up a 79-75 win over Princeton between losses to UC San Diego and Rhode Island on the ESPNU Events event in Kissimmee, Fla. The Owls common 80.0 factors per sport and are connecting on .371 of their 3-point subject aim makes an attempt.
 
Monday evening’s conflict will air nationally on FS1 with Dave Sims and Donny Marshall on the decision. Ryan Fannon and Whitey Rigsby may have the audio account from Finneran Pavilion on the Villanova Sports Radio Network on IHeart (Sirius XM channel 381).