Temple University Athletics
Temple University
Saint Louis
Men's Basketball Hosts Saint Louis Saturday in A-10 Home Opener
1.11.13 | Men's Basketball
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PHILADELPHIA - After losing tightly-contested contests at two of the toughest arenas in the nation, the Temple men's basketball team (10-4, 0-1 A-10) returns to the friendly confines of the Liacouras Center for its Atlantic 10 Conference home opener against the Saint Louis Billikens (12-3, 1-0) Saturday. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 6:00 p.m. and is being televised by ESPNU. It can also be heard on 1210 AM WPHT.
The Owls' 69-62 loss to #6/6 Kansas (1/6) and Xavier (57-52) this week marked the first time since Feb. 28, 2009 that Temple had dropped consecutive regular season games. The defeats came at Allen Fieldhouse, where Kansas has won 63 consecutive non-conference games, and the Cintas Center, where Xavier has posted a 48-1 record over the past six season against A10 competition.
Temple, under the direction of head coach Fran Dunphy, will play at its home arena, the Liacouras Center, where it has won 38 of its last 40 games.
Senior guard Khalif Wyatt continues to lead the Cherry and White in scoring (15.4 ppg.) and assists (3.9 apg.). He also tops the team in free throw percentage (.853) and has made his last 31 consecutive shots from the charity stripe.
Senior guard Scootie Randall (12.5 ppg., 7.4 rpg.) and sophomore forward Anthony Lee (11.6 ppg., 7.1 rpg.) also average double figures while ranking one-two on the squad in rebounding. Senior forward Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson (8.7 ppg., 1.7 spg.) is the Owls' top shot blocker (17) and ranks second to fellow starter, sophomore guard Will Cummings (6.0 ppg., 1.9 spg.) in steals.
Graduate students Jake O'Brien (7.3 ppg.) and T.J. DiLeo (2.9 ppg.) are the first reserves off the bench with junior Dalton Pepper (2.2 ppg.) and freshman Quenton DeCosey (3.0 ppg.) rounding out the nine-man rotation.
Saint Louis, under the direction of head coach Jim Crews, are the hottest team in the A10 as they bring a nine-game winning streak into the game following Thursday's, 70-62, home win over Massachusetts.
Junior guard Mike McCall Jr. leads a balanced Billikens' attack in scoring with a 12.0 scoring average. He also tops the team and is second in the A-10 in 3-point field goal percentage (.509, 29-57). Junior forward Dwayne Evans is second on the squad in scoring (10.6 ppg) and leads the team in rebounding (6.3 rpg) while senior forward Cody Ellis also averages double figures (10.5 ppg).
Temple has won six of the seven games played between the schools with the lone defeat being the teams' first meeting, a 56-51 decision in St. Louis.
