Villanova Vs. Temple Final Score: Owls Defeat Wildcats 78-67

The Temple Owls improved their record to 6-2 with their second home win of the season, this one coming against the 5-4 Villanova Wildcats. The final score of the game was 78-67 Temple, who actually trailed by a point going into halftime. The Owls outscored the Wildcats 43-31 in the second half.

The Owls were led by senior guard Ramone Moore, who led the game in scoring with 32 points. Moore did not shoot efficiently from the floor, making only 8 of 21 shots, but picked up the slack at the free throw line, where he was 14-15. Backup guard Khalif Wyatt and Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson were the only other Owls who scored in double figures.

Anthony Lee, who's filling in for the injured Michael Eric, had a decent game with 9 rebounds (6 offensive), 6 points and 2 blocked shots.

Villanova's Mouphtaou Yarou finished with 14 points on 11 shots, 8 rebounds and a blocked shot. 

Temple's next game is scheduled for a week from today when they travel to Texas to face the Longhorns. Villanova has now lost two straight and four of their last five. Their next game is December 13 against Boston University.  

-- For more Villanova basketball coverage, visit our team page, or our blog The Nova Blog.

-- For more Temple basketball coverage, visit our team page.

Villanova Vs Temple: Temple Hosts Battle Of Big 5's Best

Temple and Villanova have dominated the Big 5 in recent years. Saturday at 5 p.m. at Temple's Liacouras Center (ESPN 2), the two squads meet with city pride and the pressure of an early-season measuring stick on the line.

Villanova (5-3), losers of three out of four, will be looking to get back on track. The Wildcats have owned the Big 5 lately, beating La Salle 10 straight times, Penn nine straight and winning six of their last seven against both St. Joe's and Temple. 

Temple (5-2) has similarly had its way in Big 5 play, as long as you don't count its recent history against Villanova. The Owls have beaten St. Joe's nine straight times, Penn five straight and La Salle eight out of their last nine meetings. This season, Temple has been hindered by injuries to starters Scootie Randall and Micheal Eric. But the Owls still have capable players.

Even if they didn't, the cross-city rivalry would motivate Villanova.

"It's always going to be a good game," said Villanova junior lead guard Maalik Wayns, who's close with Moore and Wyatt. "We really want to beat those guys. For us it's just the same as playing Syracuse, Connecticut or someone like that. It'll be intense, like a Big East environment. And it's probably going to come down to the end, like most Big 5 games. We've played in great places. I'm kind of used to it. It might be tough for the young guys. They should embrace it.

"I think we feel like the underdogs now. That's a good way to approach it. My first 2 years, we were ranked high, maybe we had a different attitude. We understand we're not where we want to be."

For more Villanova basketball coverage, visit our team page, or our blog The Nova Blog.

For more Temple basketball coverage, visit our team page.

Villanova Vs Temple: Temple Hosts Big 5 Matchup At Liacouras Center

Villanova and Temple meet Saturday evening in Big 5 play.