Inside the City: A glance at the City Six teams

Before Sunday's 68-53 win over St. John's, Villanova coach Jay Wright said his team had to do a better job on the defensive boards. That happened in the win. Villanova outrebounded St. John's, 48-35, including 35-28 on the defensive boards. Considering that center Daniel Ochefu missed the game with a concussion, it was the type of rebounding effort Wright is looking for.

"We struggled with defensive rebounding early in the year, got better, and then the last few games there had been a gradual slide," Wright said.

Overall, Villanova is averaging 36.2 rebounds, including 26.1 on the defensive boards.

COMING UP

Wednesday vs. Creighton, 8 p.m., CBS-SN.

Saturday at Providence, 2:30 p.m. FS1

Tuesday at DePaul, 8:30 p.m. FS1

The Owls have yet to hit their stride. Just when it looked like they would take off after an 89-80 win over then-unbeaten Southern Methodist, Temple lost its next game, 64-61, at East Carolina, a team that entered the game with just one American Athletic Conference win.

Temple (12-8, 6-3) has yet to win more than three games in a row but remains very much in the hunt in the AAC. With first-place SMU ineligible for the conference and NCAA tournaments, Temple is tied for second with Cincinnati and Thursday's opponent, Tulsa.

"It has been tough because we were on a little bit of a run, having won three straight and then hit a ditch and lost to ECU," said guard Quenton DeCosey, averaging a team-high 16.4 points.

"We know we have to be more consistent."

DeCosey has shown consistency, having scored in double figures in 18 of 20 games this year.

COMING UP

Thursday vs. Tulsa, 7 p.m., ESPNU

Saturday at Central Florida, noon, ESPNU

Amid a 5-14 season on a team with little depth, one of the bright spots for La Salle has been the play of Cleon Roberts. The 6-foot-6 redshirt junior is averaging 12.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 37 minutes per game.

Last season, his first at La Salle after beginning his career at Georgia Southern, Roberts averaged 8.8 points per game.

"His effort has been tremendous," La Salle coach John Giannini said.

Giannini said that it's difficult when playing so many minutes to sustain such a high effort.

"Guys who can maintain effort have an incredible skill," he said.

COMING UP

Wednesday vs. Virginia Commonwealth, 7 p.m.

Saturday vs. Rhode Island, 8 p.m., TCN

During a season in which St. Joseph's (18-3, 7-1 Atlantic Ten) is making a serious run at an NCAA berth, the Hawks have been winning all sorts of ways. Yet Saturday's 64-55 victory at Rhode Island showed that St. Joseph's can win when not at its statistical best.

As an example, the Hawks had just four assists but 13 turnovers. "Every night isn't going to be beautiful on the offensive end," coach Phil Martelli said.

What has helped the Hawks is that they play solid defense and limit opponents' trips to the foul line. The Hawks have attempted 490 free throws and allowed just 317.

COMING UP

Wednesday vs. St. Bonaventure, 7 p.m.

Saturday at Fordham, 2 p.m.

Before Saturday, 6-foot-8 freshman Max Rothschild had 35 points in 14 games. He added 18 in the Quakers' 89-83 loss at Brown. Rothschild was pressed into action because center Darien Nelson-Henry was out with an ankle injury, and forward Mike Auger was sidelined with a broken nose.

"He was playing well in the beginning of the year, but then he kind of hit the wall early then had some injuries," Penn coach Steve Donahue said of Rothschild. "Recently, he has been playing really well in practice, like the kid we saw in November, and we think he has a good upside and is a tough competitor."

COMING UP

Friday vs. Dartmouth, 6 p.m.

Saturday vs. Harvard, 7 p.m.