PHILADELPHIA -- The maroon-clad members of the crowd who stood for hours behind a metal fence before getting into Liacouras Center held out hope that they would see something special on Wednesday night.
Maybe the Temple Owls could pull off another upset as they did earlier this season against visiting SMU.
Before a record crowd of 10,472, No. 1 Villanova spoiled any chance of another ranked team being knocked off by Temple with an 83-67 victory in a clash of Big 5 teams.
It was the sixth straight victory for the Wildcats (23-3) and their 15th in the past 16 games.
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Temple (16-9), which holds first place in the American Athletic Conference, saw its season-high, five-game winning streak ended.
Villanova received a game-high 25 points from freshman guard Jalen Brunson, the son for former Temple star Rick Brunson, on 9-of-11 shooting from the field, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range.
Senior center Daniel Ochefu had 16 points and nine rebounds, junior forward Kris Jenkins added 15 points and sophomore guard Phil Booth chipped in with 12 points for the Wildcats.
Temple was paced by freshman guard Trey Lowe's 21 points. Sophomore forward Obi Enechionyia added 15 points and junior guard Josh Brown scored 11, including10 in the first half.
"Booth and Jalen really got it going, and I think Jalen took the plays that came to him," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "It wasn't anything different than what he normally does. He got a lot of opportunities tonight.
"A Big 5 game on the road is as tough as any conference game and we wanted to play this game near the end of the year to get us ready for the postseason. It really did. It was a great crowd and they weren't going to go away. We have plenty of room for improvement and taking care of the basketball is one of them."
Temple couldn't deal with Villanova's swarming defenses. The Wildcats -- who entered the game ranked eighth in the nation in points allowed, limiting opponents to an average of 61 points per game -- forced Temple to make mistakes.
The Owls rushed shots and were hesitant with passes.
Brunson tormented Temple all night. His 3-pointer with 11:29 to play gave Villanova a 59-37 lead. Then junior forward Darryl Reynolds added twofree throws with 10:10 remaining, giving the Wildcats their largest edge of the game at 63-40.
"I went into this game with the same mentality as I do every other game," Brunson said. "I just had to make the right plays at the right time."
Temple was never able to get the margin to single digits after halftime.
Villanova went into halftime leading 35-23 thanks to its stellar defense, which generated eight points off six turnovers.
The teams traded leads four times in the first 6:30, but it was apparent that Temple was struggling in its half-court sets, with the Wildcats doubling down each time the Owls tried to get the ball inside.
With 2:28 left in the half, Jenkins made two free throws that gave Villanova its largest lead of the half at 35-21.
Temple finished 25 of 61 from the floor for 41 percent, but the Owls' 3-point shooting, such an important part of their game, didn't help at all. Temple made 8 of 24 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
"Jalen hit some tough shots and Villanova plays hard at both ends of the floor," Enechionyia said. "We need to attack when our shots aren't going in. It happens. You have to find another way to win and we didn't."
Temple's last lead was 9-8 with 14:02 remaining in the first half on senior guard Quenton DeCosey's jumper. From that point, Villanova turned up the defensive intensity and Temple was outscored 27-15 the rest of the half.
The Owls had problems from 3-point range, making just 1 of 10, and Villanova hit 13 of 28 shots from the floor and 4 of 11 from beyond the arc in the first half.
Brown led all scorers at halftime with 10 points.
Villanova received balanced scoring with eight points each from Brunson and Booth on a combined 6-of-9 shooting from the floor. Temple went to the line just once in the half and Villanova was 5 of 7.
"There was nothing cheap about any basket that (Brunson) got," Owls coach Fran Dunphy said. "He stepped up and every one of his nine baskets was timely, but that's what the great ones do. We're not the most offensively efficient group. We had opportunities at the rim that we didn't finish.
"I think Villanova has perfect rotations. They have eight guys that they feel really good about. A guy like Darryl Reynolds comes in and does what he's supposed to do. They have terrific guard play and they're smart and tough."
NOTES: Villanova has won the last three games against city rival Temple ... Villanova coach Jay Wright is 11-5 lifetime against Temple and Owls coach Fran Dunphy is 6-16 against the Wildcats. ... Villanova leads the all-time series 46-42. ... The Wildcats evened their record at 4-4 in Liacouras Center. ... Villanova won Philadelphia's Big 5 by going 4-0 against rival schools Temple, La Salle, St. Joseph's and Penn. ... Villanova is 19-0 this season when holding opponents below 70 points. ... Villanova's 105 wins over the past four years are the most by any senior class in the 96-year history of Wildcats basketball. ... Villanova's last loss was to Providence 82-76 in overtime on Jan. 23.
