Recapping City 6 Saturday

DePAUL ARRIVED at Villanova Saturday as the only team unbeaten in Big East play. Midway through the second half, DePaul trailed 66-32. Records can be deceiving, as DePaul entered conference play on a six-game losing streak, including losses against Ohio, Illinois State and Loyola Marymount.

There is nothing deceiving about Villanova, which played a near-perfect first half, opened up that 34-point lead before easing off the throttle to win, 81-64.

How good were the Wildcats (15-1, 3-1 Big East) in the first half? They shot 18-for-29 (62.1 percent) overall and 7-for-12 from the arc. They scored on their final nine possessions. They had 14 assists on those 18 baskets, just two turnovers and led 45-24. That's some serious hoops.

For the game, the 'Cats had 23 assists on 30 baskets while shooting 13-for-29 from the arc. When they shoot like that, they can beat anybody and will blast many, including DePaul (9-8, 3-1). Their starters outscored DePaul's, 56-25.

Senior Darrun Hilliard missed just four of his 12 shots and had 21 points. The best news was the shooting of junior point guard Ryan Arcidiacono, who came into the game 35-for-112 (31.3 percent) and 11-for-50 (22 percent) from the arc. He was 5-for-6 and 4-for-5 for 14 points. He also had four assists and 0 turnovers. If the wrist injury that has been an issue all season is really behind him and he starts making shots closer to last season's percentages, a difficult team to beat becomes a very, very difficult team to beat.

Even when senior point guard Will Cummings went out early in the second half with a strained muscle in his lower left leg at the Liacouras Center, and even as Jesse Morgan almost literally could not make a shot, Temple seemed to have its game against Tulsa under control, leading 46-35 with 11 1/2 minutes left. Then, Tulsa started running the ball to the rim while also making a few very difficult long shots at the exact moment the Owls went frigid. Over 8 minutes, Temple got outscored 19-1 and lost a winnable game, 63-56.

Cummings, who played just 10 minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, obviously was missed - his presence as much as his talent. The Owls, after winning six straight, just seemed out of sorts. The game really should have been over at halftime after Tulsa (10-5, 3-0 American) shot just 4-for-25. The Owls led just 23-17 because they were not shooting very well either. Tulsa got the 25 shots again in the second half, but made 14.

Morgan, almost impossibly, shot 1-for-17, 0-for-13 from the arc. He did have 6 assists and 4 steals, but 16 misses are 16 misses. It did not help that Quenton DeCosey was just 3-for-14. The Owls scored just .77 points per possession. Their defense kept them in the game on a day when offense was a rumor.

Temple's Jaylen Bond (16 points, 14 rebounds) was the best player on the floor, but he needed a little more help.

So the Owls' (12-5, 3-1) six-game winning streak is over, but the reality is that they still have not lost when all of their players are available for all of the game. Cummings, who is day-to-day, can't get back soon enough.

La Salle coach John Giannini has been insisting for weeks that his team is going to play better than it has and is better than its record. His team made the coach look smart with a defensive clinic against George Washington, winning, 63-50, at Gola Arena.

La Salle's starters outscored GW's, 53-25. The Explorers (9-7, 1-2 Atlantic 10) got 35 points from Jordan Price (20) and Cleon Roberts (15) and held GW to .86 ppp while forcing 20 turnovers. If GW (12-4, 2-1) is one of the best teams in the league and its non-conference performance, including a championship game win over Wichita State in the Diamond Head Classic, suggests it is, this La Salle win suggests the coach's assessment may prove true over the long run.

VCU still has several key players left from the team that lost the Atlantic 10 championship game to Saint Joseph's last March. SJU simply lost too much from that team and was never really in the game at VCU, losing 89-75. It was 67-40 with 12 1/2 minutes left.

SJU (6-8, 0-3 A-10) had 25 baskets and 20 turnovers, never a good ratio against a team whose offense is its defense. The Hawks actually shot 49 percent, but only got off 51 shots while missing 15 free throws. SJU sophomore DeAndre Bembry had 16 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. But his team made just five threes while giving up 12, another ratio that rarely works.

If you look very closely, you can see possibilities with Penn's very young team. Admittedly, it is hard to look with clear eyes at a program that is 20-50 over the last 2 1/2 seasons.

Penn led 58-43 with 13 1/2 minutes left in its Ivy League opener at Princeton. The Quakers shot 30-for-59 (50.8 percent) for the game. but they also had 17 turnovers to just six assists. They did not finish what they started and lost, 78-74.

Darien Nelson-Henry missed just two shots and had 18 points. Fellow junior Tony Hicks also had 18. Still, it was not enough for Penn (3-8). Princeton (7-9) won the game at the free-throw line, going 32-for-43 while Penn was just 9-for-14.

All those Drexel injuries are not only impacting the bottom line; they are also obscuring a great comeback season by redshirt junior Damion Lee. After missing all but five games last season with an ACL injury, Lee is averaging 20.8 points and 6.0 rebounds after going off for 32 points and eight rebounds at North Carolina Wilmington. Alas, his teammates shot 8-for-28 and Drexel (3-12, 1-3 CAA) lost again, 64-57. UNCW (8-7, 3-1) shot 52.4 percent and is having a nice comeback season (29-64 the previous three seasons) under first-year coach Kevin Keats, the former Louisville assistant.