VILLANOVA, Pa. – With the Thanksgiving holiday in the rear-view mirror and Christmas on the horizon, Villanova gets back to its schedule with a pair of key Philadelphia Big Five matchups this week. That stretch kicks off Monday night at Finneran Pavilion when the Wildcats (5-1 overall, 1-0 Big Five) hosts Temple (4-3 overall, 1-0 Big Five) in the final pod game of this year's event.
 
The winner advances to Saturday night's championship game of the Big Five Classic at Xfinity Mobile Arena against Penn (2-0 Big Five). The other squad will compete in the second game of the tripleheader Saturday afternoon in South Philadelphia.
 
A limited number of tickets remain available for Monday night. Click on the link at the top of the page for more information.
 
The Wildcats carry a five-game winning streak with them into this matchup and they have been especially potent in the friendly confines of Finneran Pavilion, where they have averaged 91.0 ppg across four games. They pulled away from Old Dominion in the second half of an 89-75 victory Tuesday night.
 
Junior guard Tyler Perkins enjoyed his most productive statistical night in that one, delivering 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from beyond the 3-point arc. After scoring eight points in each of his first four games of the 2025-26 regular season, the 6-4 native of Lorton, Va., averaged 17.0 ppg in his last two outings. He is one of five 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," said 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 against ODU, Perkins helped ignite a 7-0 burst to start the second half that allowed the Wildcats to grab hold of the game.
 
"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 teams met at the Big Five Classic at the Wells Fargo Center last December. The Wildcats notched a 94-65 victory in part because they tied a program record by sinking 19 from beyond the 3-point arc. That record 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 points in that matchup.
 
Temple opened its season by winning three of four at home, including a 94-60 win over La Salle in its first Big Five duel. Most recently, it picked up a 79-75 win over Princeton between losses to UC San Diego and Rhode Island at the ESPNU Events tournament in Kissimmee, Fla. The Owls average 80.0 points per game and are connecting on .371 of their 3-point field goal attempts.
 
Monday night's clash will air nationally on FS1 with Dave Sims and Donny Marshall on the call. Ryan Fannon and Whitey Rigsby will have the audio account from Finneran Pavilion on the Villanova Sports Radio Network on IHeart (Sirius XM channel 381).