Temple University Athletics
Friday, November 13
Annapolis, Md.
7:00 p.m.
Temple University
vs
North Carolina
Senior forward and team captain Jaylen Bond
Men's Basketball Faces #1/1 UNC in Season Opener Friday in Annapolis
11.10.15 | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA - The No. 1 team in the nation, North Carolina, awaits Temple men's basketball in its season opener, set for Friday, Nov. 13 at 7:00 p.m. The CBS Sports Network-televised game is part of the 2015 Veterans Classic, hosted by the U.S. Naval Academy at Alumni Hall. The Veterans classic brings together top teams from across the country in celebration of Veterans Day, and will also feature host Navy vs. Florida at 9:30 p.m.
Both the Owls and the Tar Heels are coming off 26-win seasons, with Temple advancing to the NIT Semifinals and North Carolina getting to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. Friday will mark the first time Temple is facing a #1 team in a season opener, and the 17th time overall in program history. The Owls are 2-14 against top-ranked programs, with the last win coming in 2000 at Cincinnati. The Owls are 94-25 all-time in season openers, and have won their last seven straight.
Temple and North Carolina are meeting for the seventh time, but first in 24 years. The series is tied at 3-3. The two teams last met on March 24, 1991 in the NCAA Elite Eight at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J. The fourth-ranked and top-seeded Tar Heels advanced to the Final Four, edging the 10th-seeded Owls 75-72. The Owls' last win over UNC was on Feb. 21, 1988 in Chapel Hill. The No. 1 team in the country at that time, the Owls cruised to an 83-66 victory against the fifth-ranked Tar Heels. Temple head coach Fran Dunphy will be facing UNC for the first time as a head coach, while the Tar Heels' Roy Williams went 2-2 against Temple while coaching at Kansas from 1988-2003.
For a second year in a row, Temple has been picked to finish sixth of 11 teams in the American Athletic Conference Preseason Poll. Last year, the Owls finished three spots higher in a tie for third. Temple's 26-11 record in 2014-15 marked the best turnaround in NCAA Division I, as the Owls won 17 more games than in the previous season.
Dunphy, now in his 10th season at Temple, was named the American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2015. He earned his 500th career win when Temple defeated Memphis in The American Tournament quarterfinals last season, and is now one of just 24 active NCAA Division I coaches with 500 victories.
Temple returns three starters from last year's team, including senior forward Jaylen Bond who led the American Athletic Conference with 7.9 rebounds per game. Bond has been chosen as team captain by his teammates, and is the first solo captain in Dunphy's 10 seasons at Temple. Senior guard Quenton DeCosey is the Owls' leading returning scorer with 12.3 ppg last season, and has scored 987 career points, needing just 13 more to become the 51st player in program history to score 1,000 points.
North Carolina returns four starters from its 26-12 squad in 2014-15, but will have a notable loss for the first few weeks of the season as Marcus Paige sits out with a broken hand. Paige led UNC with 14.1 points per game and 4.5 assists per game last year. Three other double-digit scorers return, including forwards Brice Johnson and Kennedy Meeks who both averaged over seven rebounds per game a year ago. The Tar Heels have earned the No. 1 spot in both national polls, but share that ranking with Kentucky in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
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Both the Owls and the Tar Heels are coming off 26-win seasons, with Temple advancing to the NIT Semifinals and North Carolina getting to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. Friday will mark the first time Temple is facing a #1 team in a season opener, and the 17th time overall in program history. The Owls are 2-14 against top-ranked programs, with the last win coming in 2000 at Cincinnati. The Owls are 94-25 all-time in season openers, and have won their last seven straight.
Temple and North Carolina are meeting for the seventh time, but first in 24 years. The series is tied at 3-3. The two teams last met on March 24, 1991 in the NCAA Elite Eight at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J. The fourth-ranked and top-seeded Tar Heels advanced to the Final Four, edging the 10th-seeded Owls 75-72. The Owls' last win over UNC was on Feb. 21, 1988 in Chapel Hill. The No. 1 team in the country at that time, the Owls cruised to an 83-66 victory against the fifth-ranked Tar Heels. Temple head coach Fran Dunphy will be facing UNC for the first time as a head coach, while the Tar Heels' Roy Williams went 2-2 against Temple while coaching at Kansas from 1988-2003.
For a second year in a row, Temple has been picked to finish sixth of 11 teams in the American Athletic Conference Preseason Poll. Last year, the Owls finished three spots higher in a tie for third. Temple's 26-11 record in 2014-15 marked the best turnaround in NCAA Division I, as the Owls won 17 more games than in the previous season.
Dunphy, now in his 10th season at Temple, was named the American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2015. He earned his 500th career win when Temple defeated Memphis in The American Tournament quarterfinals last season, and is now one of just 24 active NCAA Division I coaches with 500 victories.
Temple returns three starters from last year's team, including senior forward Jaylen Bond who led the American Athletic Conference with 7.9 rebounds per game. Bond has been chosen as team captain by his teammates, and is the first solo captain in Dunphy's 10 seasons at Temple. Senior guard Quenton DeCosey is the Owls' leading returning scorer with 12.3 ppg last season, and has scored 987 career points, needing just 13 more to become the 51st player in program history to score 1,000 points.
North Carolina returns four starters from its 26-12 squad in 2014-15, but will have a notable loss for the first few weeks of the season as Marcus Paige sits out with a broken hand. Paige led UNC with 14.1 points per game and 4.5 assists per game last year. Three other double-digit scorers return, including forwards Brice Johnson and Kennedy Meeks who both averaged over seven rebounds per game a year ago. The Tar Heels have earned the No. 1 spot in both national polls, but share that ranking with Kentucky in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
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