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City Six rundown: Sharing pays for 'Nova

VILLANOVA Among the most impressive traits of the No. 1-ranked Wildcats is their selfless play on offense. In Saturday's 78-68 win over Providence, four players had four or more assists, led by point guard Jalen Brunson, who had six.

VILLANOVA

Among the most impressive traits of the No. 1-ranked Wildcats is their selfless play on offense. In Saturday's 78-68 win over Providence, four players had four or more assists, led by point guard Jalen Brunson, who had six.

The Wildcats helped the assist total by shooting 51.7 percent from the field.

Coach Jay Wright says the unselfish play begins with Villanova's two leading scorers, Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins. Hart was averaging 19.2 points and Jenkins 14.3 entering Tuesday's game at Marquette.

"Kris and Josh, those guys had 25 and 19 [points against Providence]," Wright said. "If they wanted to they could do that every night, but to win games, sometimes we don't need that."

COMING UP

Sunday vs. Virginia at the Wells Fargo Center, 1 p.m.

ST. JOSEPH'S

Freshman forward Charlie Brown was named the Atlantic Ten rookie of the week after averaging 15 points and 7.5 rebounds in two games. That included season highs of 19 points and nine rebounds Saturday in a 78-71 win over Penn.

Brown has come on lately. He entered Tuesday's game at St. Bonaventure averaging 11.3 points and 5.2 rebounds.

After scoring in double figures three times in his first eight games, he had 10 or more points in nine of his next 10 games.

The Hawks started a freshman, three sophomores and a junior against Penn. Brown's recent scoring is needed even more since junior guard Shavar Newkirk (20.3 ppg.) suffered a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on Dec. 30.

COMING UP

Saturday vs. La Salle, 6 p.m.

Tuesday vs. Davidson, 8 p.m.

DREXEL

The Dragons are just 1-6 in the Colonial Athletic Association, but the schedule maker hasn't been kind. Two of the losses have been to first-place UNC Wilmington, which is 8-0 in league play. Two others have come against third-place Northeastern.

Drexel coach Zach Spiker refuses to use the difficult schedule as an excuse.

"Everybody will play those teams twice and it will even out in the end," Spiker said. "It is nothing we talk about and we have to continue to get better."

There are plenty of challenges ahead, including two meetings with second-place College of Charleston.

Drexel is coming off a loss Saturday at UNC Wilmington in a game the Dragons trailed by two points with 15 minutes left, only to see UNCW go on a 12-0 run.

Rodney Williams, a 6-foot-7 senior, leads the Dragons in scoring (15.9 ppg.) and is second in rebounding (6.9).

COMING UP

Thursday vs. Hofstra, 7 p.m.

Saturday vs. the College of Charleston, 2 p.m.

Monday at William and Mary, 7 p.m.

PENN

Penn coach Steve Donahue is worried about a recent trend - too much fouling by the Quakers. In a 78-71 Big Five loss to St. Joseph's on Saturday, Penn committed a season-high 32 fouls, sending the Hawks to the foul line 43 times. It was the team's fourth straight with 20 or more fouls, and the fourth consecutive loss for the Quakers. They are averaging 24 fouls in those four games.

"The players want to prove they can stop a guy and probably overreact," Donahue explained, giving a reason for the high foul totals. "It's mostly out of effort and we're trying to figure it out."

There is one thing he is sure of. "It has to stop," he said.

A.J. Brodeur, a 6-8 freshman, leads the Quakers in scoring (14.0 ppg.) and rebounding (6.9).

COMING UP

Wednesday at La Salle, 7 p.m.

TEMPLE

Owls point guard Josh Brown last played on Dec. 13 against Villanova. Since then, he has been sidelined with Achilles tendon soreness. Brown made a remarkable comeback after tearing his Achilles and having surgery May 25. He returned to action Nov. 30, played in five games, but has been sidelined since. If he appears in another game this season, he would give up a chance to earn a medical redshirt.

"Josh ran around a little today," coach Fran Dunphy said Monday. "But he is still not playing close to 100 percent."

Dunphy would not speculate on whether Brown will play again this season, saying it's up to the doctors and Brown.

A team leader, Brown also has been missed because he is Temple's best defender.

COMING UP

Wednesday vs. Memphis, 6 p.m.

Saturday at Houston, 10 p.m.

Tuesday at Tulane, 8 p.m.

LA SALLE

The Explorers will conclude their Big Five schedule with consecutive games, Wednesday at home against Penn and Saturday at St. Joseph's. La Salle is 0-2 in the Big Five, but both have been close games. The Explorers opened the season with a 97-92 overtime loss at Temple and lost to Villanova, 89-79, at the Palestra.

La Salle coach John Giannini has long been a proponent of the Big Five.

"In Philadelphia, winning is local bragging rights for the fans and students," he said. "The passion spills over to the teams and it's great tradition."

La Salle is looking to bounce back from its worst loss of the season, Sunday's 90-52 defeat at VCU.

"The game wasn't close and VCU had everything to do with that," Giannini said. "We came to play and were competitive for the first 13 minutes, but they were relentless with pressure and created turnovers."

La Salle committed 16 turnovers, with VCU scoring 22 points off them.

COMING UP

Wednesday vs. Penn, 7 p.m.

Saturday at St. Joseph's, 6 p.m.