The Owls have knocked off Syracuse, took Kansas to the brink and own 12 wins.
Yet, Temple has also suffered its share of setbacks. One to Canisius and another came to St. Bonaventure (8-9, 1-3 A-10) on Saturday, prompting Fran Dunphy to call his team overrated (see story).
Meanwhile, instead of regressing, St. Joe's rebounded on Saturday with a 20-point win over Big 5 rival Penn after coughing up a near-upset of VCU (see Instant Replay).
Here's the rest of what occurred around the City 6 on Saturday:
La Salle guards struggle at Xavier
CINCINNATI -- Semaj Christon scored 18 points on Saturday, and Xavier overcame an early 11-point deficit to beat La Salle 70-63 and stay perfect in the Atlantic 10.
Xavier (11-6, 4-0) won its past three games without point guard Dee Davis, who sprained his left wrist in the first half of a 57-52 win over Temple. He returned on Saturday and had six points and seven assists.
La Salle (12-5, 2-2) is off to best start since the 1990-91 season. The Explorers have the league's top scoring duo in guard Ramon Galloway -- 17.1 points per game, second in the A-10 -- and guard Tyreek Duren at 15 points per game.
The two guards had trouble against the A-10's second-stingiest defense, combining to go 6 of 26 from the field. Tyrone Garland led the Explorers with 16 points (see full recap).
Villanova falters late at Providence
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Bryce Cotton scored 24 points, and Vincent Council added 15, leading Providence to a 69-66 victory over Villanova Saturday afternoon.
The game was a tale of two halves for Providence (10-8, 2-4 Big East). The Friars trailed 31-24 at halftime, but outscored Villanova (11-7, 2-3) 45-35 in the second half.
JayVaughn Pinkston paced the Wildcats from the start, scoring 10 of Villanova's first 13 points. The Wildcats went on a 15-2 run over a 4-minute span late in the first half.
Villanova found itself in foul trouble with 14 fouls in the first half, putting the Friars in the bonus at 10:33. But Providence could not capitalize at first, making just five of its first 14 free-throw attempts and 11 of 20 in the half. Furthermore, the Wildcats finished the half with seven players with two fouls, avoiding any major foul trouble and ending the half with the lead.
The Friars and Wildcats matched each other basket for basket for the final 10 minutes. Momentum gradually shifted from the Wildcats to the Friars, who never trailed in the final 5:14 (see full recap).
Drexel earns much-needed win
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- Frantz Massenat scored 19 points to lead Drexel to a 59-48 victory over William & Mary Saturday in Colonial Athletic Association action.
The Dragons (6-11, 2-3), who led 32-24 at halftime, ended a three-game losing streak. William & Mary (7-10, 1-5) has lost seven straight.
Drexel, which got 10 points from Damion Lee off the bench and an eight-point, 11-rebound effort from Dartaye Ruffin, led by as many as 16 points after the break.
Tim Rusthoven led William & Mary with 19 points. Marcus Thornton added 14 and Brandon Britt 13. Only one other William & Mary player scored: Kyle Gaillard, who hit two foul shots (see full recap).
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