Temple University Athletics
Temple University
Saint Joseph's
Temple-St. Joe's at Liacouras Center Saturday
1.26.12 | Men's Basketball
City's most played college basketball rivalry to be broadcast on The Comcast Network
Game Notes | Live Stats
PHILADELPHIA - The most played Philadelphia Big 5 rivalry takes center stage at the Liacouras Center Saturday as Temple hosts Saint Joseph's in a key Atlantic 10 Conference battle. The game, which will be televised live by The Comcast Network (1210 AM WPHT radio), tips off at 4:00 p.m., but Owl fans should plan to arrive early as the doors open at 2:30 p.m, for the start of the Ninth Annual Owl Club Auction.
Saturday's game is sold out to the general public. Only tickets that remain are being held for current Temple students on a first-come, first-serve basis on Saturday.
This will be the 153rd meeting between the teams with Temple owning an 87-65 advantage. The Owls are on a nine-game win streak over the Hawks, two shy of the longest streak by either program in the series. Temple has won the last three meetings at the Liacouras Center, but is only 8-6 against the Hawks in the venue. SJU's last win in the series came here, a 68-67 decision on Jan. 26, 2008.
Temple (14-5, 3-2 A10), under the direction of head coach Fran Dunphy, enters the game riding a three-game win streak with its most recent victory coming Wednesday at Charlotte (79-57). Senior guard Ramone Moore, who has an A10 high 12 straight double figure games, leads the conference in scoring at 17.2 ppg. Junior guard Khalif Wyatt ranks fourth in the conference in scoring (16.3 ppg.) as well as steals (2.1 spg.) while senior guard Juan Fernandez (11.5 ppg,) rounds out the Owls double-figure scorers while topping the team in assists (81) and three-pointers (41).
Junior forward Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson (9.5 ppg., 6.4 rpg.) and redshirt freshman Anthony Lee (5.8 ppg., 6.6 rpg.) have provided a strong presence in the paint which is bolstered by the return of 6-11 graduate center Micheal Eric (8.0 ppg., 9.0 rpg.). Eric had game highs of nine rebounds and three blocks over 17 minutes at Charlotte in just his second game back.
Sophomore guard Aaron Brown, who has emerged as a leading candidate for A10
Sixth Man of the Year, continues to be an offensive spark off the bench (8.3 ppg.) while redshirt junior T.J. DiLeo (2.6 ppg.) and freshman Will Cummings (2.1 ppg.) round out the nine-man rotation.
Saint Joseph's (13-8, 3-3), under the direction of head coach Phil Martelli, snapped a three-game losing streak Wednesday with a win over Dayton (77-63). Junior guard Carl Jones leads a balanced Hawk attack and ranks third in the A10 in scoring (16.7 ppg.). Sophomore guard Langston Galloway (16.3 ppg.), second nationally in three-point percentage (60-119, .504), is tied for fifth in the league in scoring while sophomores C.J. Aiken (11.6 ppg.) and Ronald Roberts (10.9 ppg.) also average double figures. Aiken leads the A10 and ranks second nationally in blocked shots (4.3 bpg.).
