Temple University Athletics
Temple University
Dayton
Temple Hosts Dayton Saturday in A10 Opener
1.6.12 | Men's Basketball
Owls look to extend home court win streak against the always tough Flyers
PHILADELPHIA - Coming off the biggest regular season win in head coach Fran Dunphy's six-year tenure on North Broad Street, a 78-73 upset of #3/5 Duke, the Temple men's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of the Liacouras Center to host the Dayton Flyers in their Atlantic 10 Conference opener Saturday afternoon (4:00 p.m./Comcast SportsNet/1210 AM WPHT).
Temple (10-3, 0-0) will be looking to extend its home court win streak, currently at 25 games (tied for sixth nationally). It is just the fourth home game of the season for the Owls, who have played road warriors for the first part of the season in compiling a 7-3 road/neutral mark.
Senior guard Ramone Moore continues to lead the Owls and ranks third in the Atlantic 10 with a 16.9 scoring average. The Philadelphia native also tops the league in minutes per game (37.2 mpg.) while dishing 3.8 assists per game.
Junior guard Khalif Wyatt, who torched Duke with a game-high 22 points, tops the Owls in steals (2.0 spg.) while ranking second in scoring (14.9 ppg.). Senior guard Juan Fernandez, one of the A10's top three-point shooters (32-82, .390), rounds out Temple's three double figure scorers with a 12.6 average. He also tops TU in assists with 55.
Junior forwards Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson (9.8 ppg., 6.7 rpg.) and redshirt freshman Anthony Lee (5.9 ppg., 6.8 rpg.) have done a remarkable job in the front court while graduate center Micheal Eric (10.5 ppg., 11.3 rpg.) recovers from a patella injury. Hollis-Jefferson, who leads the Owls and ranks fifth in the A10 in field goal percentage (.609), scored a season-high 17 points against Duke while Lee, the team's leader in blocked shots (19), chipped in with 11 points.
Sophomore Aaron Brown, who chipped in 11 points in the Duke win, continues to be an offensive spark off the bench (8.1 ppg.) while redshirt junior T.J. DiLeo (3.2 ppg.) and freshman Will Cummings (2.6 ppg.) round out the eight-man rotation.
Dayton, under the direction of first-year coach Archie Miller, has won three straight, including its A10 opener, a thrilling 79-72 overtime win over Saint Louis Wednesday, to improve to 11-4 overall. Redshirt junior guard Kevin Dillard (12.2 ppg.) leads a balanced scoring attack. Senior forward Chris Johnson (10.5 ppg.), also scores in double figures
The Owls lead the series, 16-11, and have won the last two meetings.
