College Villanova remains No. 1 as they prepare for Philly rival, Temple by Renee Washington February 17, 2016 Ryan Arcidiacono and VIllanova head coach Jay Wright. (USA Today Images) For the second straight week, Villanova (22-3) sits at No.1 in the Associated Press Top 25. Kansas has moved into the second place, right behind the Wildcats after defeating two top-10 teams. This week, Villanova received 44 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel on Monday as Kansas received the rest. The Wildcats are one of just six schools to remain in the No.1 spot for more than one week. One of the longest top ranked appearances ended just two weeks ago after Duke dropped out Top 25, ending their 167 consecutive weeks in the polls. The Blue Devils have been ranked in the Top 25 since preseason of the 2006-2007 season. No.1 Villanova defeated fellow Big East member St. John’s in a tight victory, 73-63, on Saturday. Daniel Ochefu is showing he is back and stronger than ever from missing three games to a concussion as he finished with a career high 25 points on Saturday along with nine rebounds, shooting 11-of-14 from the field. St. Johns came into the game with nothing to lose with a record of 0-12 in the Big East. The Red Storm lost 15 straight games prior to facing Villanova. They battled hard, but the No.1 team finished on top again. Today, head coach Jay Wright and the Wildcats have another challenge ahead of them as they take on cross-city and Big 5 opponent, Temple. Fran Dunphy and the Owls are coming off a 77-65 victory over South Florida. Temple is sitting at 16-8 this season, coming off of a season best five consecutive wins. Temple’s only Big 5 loss so far this season came to St. Joseph’s in overtime by one point. It will be a tough road game for the Wildcats, as the Owls are 9-2 at home in the Liacouras Center. The Owls have also been successful against ranked opponents, defeating three of them so far this season. Villanova is currently playing really well. Having Ochefu back is a big help in providing leadership, experience, and a strong inside presence for the Wildcats. Josh Hart is also doing well in his third season after becoming the 31st player in program history to score 1,000 or more points and 500 or more rebounds. Villanova has also won five consecutive games and leads the Big East in field goal percentage defense, while at eighth nationally for scoring defense (61.0). Villanova and Temple meet for the 90th time in program history. Villanova leads the series 46-43. In their last meeting on December 14, 2014 Villanova defeated the Owls 85-62 at home. Tonight, Villanova and Temple tip off at 7pm ET at the Liacouras Center. Post Views: 1,313 The following two tabs change content below.BioLatest Posts Renee Washington Renee is a Staff Writer at DoubleGSports.com with a focus on Temple Men's Basketball and other area sports content. Latest posts by Renee Washington (see all) Temple grabs fourth straight win - February 8, 2018 Temple Looks to Bounce Back Against Tulsa Wednesday - January 15, 2018 Analyzing Temple’s season through the halfway point - January 14, 2018 Game On! Temple still Scheduled to Face Cincinnati Thursday night - January 4, 2018 Related TopicsBig EastDaniel OchefuFran DunphyJay WrightTempleVillanova Click to comment You must be logged in to post a comment Login Leave a Reply Cancel replyYou must be logged in to post a comment. Newsletter Subscription Can't Miss Posts! Women in Sports: NHL Network Host, Jackie Redmond by Nicholas Durst | posted on March 4, 2019 Women in Sports: Podcast Host, New York Riptide Sideline Reporter, Dani Wexelman by Luke Porco | posted on March 3, 2020 From Paramus High School to CBS Sports, Spero Dedes is making waves in sports broadcasting by Sunil Sunder Raj | posted on October 27, 2020 Lochte, Dressel and Ledecky all Chasing Gold at 2021 Tokyo Olympics by Anthony Paradiso | posted on April 18, 2021 “Overtime” l Ep. 28: TopSpin Celeb-Athlete Tournament – Dec. 6, 2018 by Stefany Romero | posted on December 19, 2018 More in College You Know I’m Right, Episode 107: New York Post’s Columnist Mike Vaccaro (Audio/Video) On the 107th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... Master P’s Son, Hercy, Commits to Tennessee State Master P’s son, Hercy Miller, is committing to Tennessee State to play basketball. While... EA Sports Plans to Revive College Football Video Game EA Sports announced that they plan on making college football video games again. The... UVM Women’s Basketball Team Quits 2020-2021 Season The University of Vermont (UVM) women’s basketball will be ending their 2020-2021 season early... St. John’s Still Falls to No. 1 Villanova After Valiant Effort Analyzing Talley’s final freshman class at Villanova