La Salle gets first shot at new No. 1 Villanova

PHILADELPHIA -- The defending national champions are now the top team in the country.

The Villanova Wildcats moved from No. 2 to No. 1 this week, and they will continue their quest toward a Big 5 title with a matchup against city rival La Salle on Tuesday night at the Palestra.

Villanova improved to 8-0 with a resounding 88-57 victory over Saint Joseph's on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats can move to 3-0 in the Big 5 this season with a victory over the Explorers.

Overall, Villanova owns a record 16 consecutive Big 5 wins.

Thanks to Kentucky's home loss to UCLA, Villanova was elevated to No. 1 on Monday afternoon. Villanova was at No. 1 for three weeks last February on its way to winning the second national championship in program history.

Senior Josh Hart proved his mettle as a National Player of the Year candidate with a triple-double against the Hawks, the first for the program since Harold Pressley accomplished the feat in January 1986 at Providence. Hart had 16 points, 11 rebounds and a career-best 10 assists, giving him 19 assists in the past two games.

"I'm not sure what's gotten into me," Hart said. "I just love seeing my teammates score. This is probably the only time Coach (Jay Wright) has had to tell me to be more aggressive. My mindset today was to be aggressive, and everything else took care of itself. I have to attribute that to my teammates."

Wright gushed when asked about one of his senior leaders.

"Josh is just so complete in every way," Wright said. "He is the best competitor out there. He's one of the best shooters on the team, one of the best finishers in the country and he's a great decision-maker. And he's our best defensive player."

Villanova senior forward Kris Jenkins also stayed hot with a team-high 20 points vs. Saint Joseph's. Some of his shots were quite difficult with a defender draped all over him.

"Kris Jenkins just has incredible talent to make shots, even bad shots," Wright said. "It's a weapon we have to be careful with."

La Salle (4-2) started slowly this season but has since won three in a row. Its most recent performance was an 83-73 victory over Bucknell on Saturday. B.J. Johnson, a Syracuse transfer, scored 22 points and Jordan Price scored 20 points.

The Explorers' defense was solid, holding the Bison to 29 points and just 39.1 percent shooting in the second half.

"I thought the second half was the best we've played this year," La Salle coach John Giannini said. "We held a terrific offensive team to 39 percent from the field, and we only had three turnovers in the second half until we got a couple odd late offensive fouls. I think our players did exactly what they had to do to win the game against a team that's won at Vanderbilt, won four in a row, beat Richmond. That's a really good team."

La Salle last defeated Villanova on Nov. 25, 2012, a 77-74 decision. The Explorers are 0-4 against Villanova at the Palestra since 1999.

There will be a ceremony to retire the No. 20 jersey of former Explorer Larry Cannon at halftime. A second team All-American as a senior in 1968-69, Cannon guided the Explorers to a 23-1 record and a No. 2 national ranking behind national champion UCLA.