PHILADELPHIA — Juan Fernandez squashed No. 3 Villanova's reign as the best team in the city one 3-pointer at a time.

His early 3s kept Temple close, his first one of the second half gave the Owls the lead, and his big ones late in the game helped clinched their biggest regular-season victory in nearly 10 years. By the time Temple fans bellowed "Overrated!" and stormed the court, Villanova's perfect record and city dominance were finished.

Fernandez hit seven 3-pointers and scored a career-high 33 points and Ryan Brooks added 20 points in Temple's 75-65 victory over the Wildcats yesterday.

"I've been thinking about this game all week," Fernandez said. "I know Temple didn't beat Villanova for a long time. I think we needed this win. I think we need to prove ourselves."

Fernandez led a sizzling 3-point attack that stunned the Wildcats (9-1) in the second half and helped them pull away for their first win over a top-five team since beating No. 1 Cincinnati on Feb. 20, 2000. The Owls (8-2) opened the half on an 11-0 burst and grabbed a lead they would never surrender.

"What's it going to do for us down the line, I've got no idea," Temple coach Fran Dunphy said. "We'll figure it out later on."

Scottie Reynolds led Villanova with 23 points.

"We were going to get our first loss at some time," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "This team wasn't going to go undefeated, I promise you that."

ELSEWHERE

No. 7 Syracuse 75, St. Francis, N.Y. 51: Wes Johnson had 12 points, nine rebounds and four blocks as host Syracuse (10-0) rolled past St. Francis (3-6).

Xavier 83, No. 19 Cincinnati 79, 2 OTs: Jason Love got his 19th rebound with 9.8 seconds left and made a clinching free throw as visiting Xavier (6-3) upset crosstown rival Cincinnati (6-2). Terrell Holloway led Xavier with a career-high 26 points. Lance Stephenson scored a career-high 22 for Cincinnati.

NEW MEXICO STATE 87, UTEP 80: Jahmar Young scored 24 points as New Mexico State (3-5) of the Western Athletic Conference beat host Texas-El Paso (5-1). Randy Culpepper scored 24 for the Miners.

TOP 25 WOMEN

No. 2 Stanford 96, DePaul 60: Nnemkadi Ogwumike scored 24 points, Jeanette Pohlen added 17 as Stanford (7-0) beat DePaul (7-3) for its 33rd straight home win. Keisha Hampton scored 19 points for the Blue Demons.

No. 4 Tennessee 68, Rutgers 54: Shekinna Stricklen scored 19 points to lead Tennessee (8-0) past Rutgers (7-5) in the Maggie Dixon Classic at Madison Square Garden. Brittany Ray led the Scarlet Knights with 29 points.

No. 5 LSU 57, New Orleans 33: Allison Hightower scored 20 points and host LSU (7-0) forced 32 turnovers to thump New Orleans (6-4).

No. 6 Baylor 68, Boston College 55: Freshman Brittney Griner scored 25 points to lead Baylor (8-1) over Boston College (5-5) in the Maggie Dixon Classic at Madison Square Garden. Stefanie Murphy scored 18 for the Eagles.

No. 9 Ohio St. 79, Mississippi 78: Andrea Walker made two free throws with 40 seconds left to cap a 12-0 game-closing run and help visiting Ohio State (10-1) dodge an upset by Mississippi (6-3). Bianca Thomas scored 25 points to lead the Rebels.

No. 11 North Carolina 81, Gardner-Webb 65: Cetera DeGraffenreid had 19 points and Italee Lucas added 18 to lead host North Carolina (8-1) past Gardner-Webb (8-2). Dominique Hudson had 17 points for the Bulldogs.

No. 21 Michigan St. 94, Florida Gulf Coast 71: Jasmine Thomas scored 15 points and host Michigan State (7-3) set a school record with 13 3-pointers to beat Florida Gulf Coast (4-3). Adrianne McNally led the visitors with 21 points.

No. 23 Kansas 77, Creighton 56: Angel Goodrich had a career-high 20 points and eight assists, lifting host Kansas (7-2) over Creighton (5-3).

No. 24 Nebraska 69, N. Illinois 44: Dominique Kelley scored 14 points as host Nebraska (10-0), off to the best start in program history, beat Northern Illinois (3-6).