The Temple Owls ended a decade of frustration Friday night, upsetting No. 16 Villanova, 68-64.
Temple fans were so pumped up about the big upset they stormed the Owls’ Liacouras Center court not once, but twice, thanks to a bizarre sequence at the end of the game. After the Owls intercepted a pass as time expired, fans rushed the court to celebrate, only to learn that officials had called a foul on the final play.
After some pleas from the public address announcer (“The game is not over!”), fans cleared the court and Temple’s Zach Hicks made a couple of free throws. A fraction of a second later, fans relived their court rush from moments earlier.
do not know if I’ve ever been more proud as a Temple alum than I was just now when I saw students storm the court two separate times while defeating Villanova https://t.co/M5t1DK0FGC
— Brian Grubb (@briancgrubb) November 12, 2022
It’s Temple’s first victory over cross-town rival Villanova in seven games dating to 2012. Guard Damian Dunn paced the Owls with 22 points, and guard Khalif Battle came off the bench to score 21. The Wildcats, who were without starters Justin Moore and Cam Whitmore, were paced by guard Caleb Daniels (19 points).
College basketball fans checked in on Twitter to ponder what this upset means for highly touted Villanova.
“Temple upsets Villanova. In a million years I wouldn’t have picked Nova to lose the first game of the year for @BIGEASTMBB,” tweeted one user.
“Storming the court is a little much lol,” tweeted another user.
MAYHEM IN THE BIG 5!!!
Temple upsets #16 Villanova and they storm the court TWICE after they put time back on the clock
— Life of a Philly Fan (@PhillyFanLife) November 12, 2022
Temple upsets Villanova.
In a million years I wouldn’t have picked Nova to lose the first game of the year for @BIGEASTMBB
— HolyLandofHoops (@HolyLandofHoops) November 12, 2022
Temple upsets Villanova!! How does this change our outlook for the Wildcats?
Join us: https://t.co/JogBSN2RGA
POWERED by @BetRivers
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) November 12, 2022
Temple knocks off Villanova!
Pro: Villanova loses and we love upsets
Con: Villanova is probably at best an average team this year which is terrible for the Big East
— Danny Barletta (@dbars_12) November 12, 2022
storming the court is a little much lol
— Dan Rodgers (@DanRodgers591) November 12, 2022
What an awesome game. Temple keeps getting better. Nova will be fine. Excited to see what these teams do this year
— BlackBerryBrad (@BlackBerryBrad) November 12, 2022
https://twitter.com/JonSportsCast/status/1591255816140914689
[Brian Grubb, Photo Credit: ESPN]
