Josh Hart and the rest of Villanova made a few adjustments at halftime to come out big in the second half as they took down Temple 78-57 to take the Big 5 crown.
Villanova improves to 11-0 while the Owls fall to 7-4.
It wasn’t an exciting game for most of the first half: Temple started 1-8 from the field and Villanova 1-5. The score was 3-3 at first TV timeout.
Brunson got back to back 3’s to give `Nova an early three point lead. He had a season-high 25 last season at Temple.
Temple stayed sloppy for most of the first half, committing eight turnovers in the first 15 minutes of the game. They coughed up the ball 12 times in the first half while averaging just 11 per game entering tonight.
The Wildcats began to pull away at the end of the first half, going on a 9-0 run capped off by a Hart transition layup at the buzzer. He scored the final six points of the half after scoring only 2 on 1-6 shooting beforehand.
The Owls outrebounded the `Cats 19-14 at the first half to stay close for most of it, but Temple only shot 28%. Fouls were also an issue for the Owls; 9 personal fouls compared to only 4 for `Nova.
Hart stayed hot into the second half. He doubled his points less than seven minutes by shooting 5-7.
Josh Hart didn't score a point in first 15 minutes of this game. He now has 21 of Villanova's last 31. https://t.co/eVglPfS4Vk
— Dana O'Neil (@ESPNDanaOneil) December 14, 2016
One thing Villanova did well all game was share the ball- they had assists on seven of their first ten field goals and 19 all day. Brunson lead the way with 6.
Temple's leading scorer Obi Enechionyia had a cold night from the floor. He finished with just 8 points on 3-9 shooting.
The Wildcats have a lengthy 8 day break before they take on American Eagles.