VILLANOVA, Pa. – After a one-game pause in the BIG EAST schedule, Villanova begins the stretch run of league play on Wednesday night at DePaul (13-12 overall, 1-11 BIG EAST). The Wildcats outlasted the Blue Demons 79-75 in overtime in their first meeting at Finneran Pavilion on Jan. 14.
 
Wednesday night's game at Wintrust Arena airs is scheduled to tip off just after 9 p.m. eastern time. It will be carried on the CBS Sports Network with Andrew Catalon, former Villanova head coach Steve Lappas and Jamie Erdahl on the call. Ryan Fannon and Whitey Rigsby will be courtside for the radio broadcast, which can be heard in the Delaware Valley on 610 ESPN Radio and everywhere on the TuneIn app.
 
On Monday, Villanova (19-6 overall, 8-4 BIG EAST) moved up three places in both the Associated Press (15^th to 12^th) and USA Today Coaches (16^th to 13^th) polls. One day earlier, Nova knocked off Temple 76-56 at the Liacouras Center to lock down its sixth Philadelphia Big Five title in the last seven seasons. Junior Collin Gillespie scored 29 points for the winners.
 
The Wildcats trailed 30-26 at halftime.
 
"We were good," stated Gillespie after a period in which Villanova struggled to score with Justin Moore and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl both in early foul trouble. "We knew had to make adjustments and stick to our game plan. In the second half we got stops on the defensive end and that gave us some easy opportunities to score."
 
Villanova dropped in 17 3-pointers Sunday, one shy of the squad's season high and two less than the school record established twice in 2017-18. Thirteen of those were drained after halftime (13-of-21).
 
"We're always searching for 3's", noted Wildcats head coach Jay Wright. "Certain teams take that away and it does open up other things.
 
"It's one of the things we haven't been great at as a young team this year – recognizing that all the time. I thought we did a really good job Sunday mixing it up. It's just reading what the defense is taking away. That takes time. We're getting better at that."
 
Another positive sign against the Owls came on the defensive end, where the Wildcats limited Temple to .361 shooting from the field, including 2-of-15 from beyond the 3-point arc. That was a step forward after a four-game span where the Wildcats had surrendered 70 or more points in four consecutive contests.
 
"Some of the defensive keys were just helping our man out on the ball," explained Jermaine Samuels, who held a +19 rating during his 31:38 of time on the court. "(Quinton) Rose and (Nate) Pierre-Louis are great isolation players. Having support behind the man guarding the ball is the biggest key for us. And then focus on the rebounds."
 
Temple held a 21-17 edge on the glass over the first 20 minutes. That changed, however, in the second half when Nova turned the tables, grabbing 23 boards to 10 for the Owls. Villanova is 14-1 this season when out-rebounding the opposition.

In the earlier meeting between the Wildcats and Blue Demons, Charlis Moore scored 29 points while Paul Reed added 18 points and 15 rebounds. Moore's floater with eight seconds remaining in overtime tied the contest, capping a furious rally over the final two minutes of regulation. Gillespie led the Wildcats in overtime and ended the night with 21 points. 
 
Including Wednesday night's matchup, the Wildcats have six BIG EAST games remaining – four away from home. Another of those comes Saturday, when Villanova visits Xavier for a game that is set for 2:30 p.m. (Fox and 610 ESPN Radio).
 
The 2019-20 season – Villanova's 100^th college basketball campaign – is presented by Hartford Funds and Coca-Cola.