Temple University Athletics
ST. JOE'S INVADES LIACOURAS CENTER FOR KEY A-10 BATTLE
2.21.05 | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA - Round Two of the Saint Joseph's-Temple battle for the Atlantic 10 East Division Title takes place at the Liacouras Center Tuesday night (7:00 p.m.). This time it will also be a Philadelphia Big 5 clash with the Owls (2-0 in Big 5 play) looking to clinch a share of the city-series title with a win. Temple will also be looking to snap a five-game losing streak in the series with St. Joe's, and move to within a game of the division lead.
Saint Joseph's controlled the first meeting held at the Palestra on February 12 from the outset. The Hawks opened each half with 13-4 runs and coasted to a 69-57 win. Senior Pat Carroll led all scorers with 27 points and drained six of the Hawks 11 three-pointers in the game. Mardy Collins topped Temple with 23 points, but the Owls made just four-of-19 from three-point range.
Collins and Carroll are among the leading candidates for Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year honors. Collins, who leads the Owls in scoring (17.5 ppg.,), assists (3.83 apg.) and steals (2.96 spg.), was named to NABC first team all-District last week while Carroll (16.9 ppg.), the top three-point shooter in the A-10 (80 three-pointers, 44.9%), was named to the all-district second team.
The game features the two best defensive teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Saint Joseph's leads the conference in scoring defense (59.2 ppg.) while Temple ranks second (61.4 ppg.). The Owls, however, top the league in field goal percentage defense (.397), turnover margin (+4.70) and the nation in turnovers per game (9.0 tpg.).
The Owls own a 38-16 advantage in the series when playing at home, but have lost the last two meetings at the Liacouras Center, where they own a 4-3 record against the Hawks.
