Men's Basketball Hosts East Carolina Saturday Night at 9:00

PHILADELPHIA - Coming off wins against Top 25 opponents in two of its last three games, Temple men's basketball will look to keep its momentum going as the Owls host East Carolina on Saturday, Jan. 9 at 9 p.m. The game will air on ESPNews as well as 1210 AM WPHT.

Headlines
• Temple has beaten Top 25 opponents in two of its last three games, getting both on the road to achieve that feat for the first time since 1998.
• The Owls' 55-53 win at #23/24 UConn on Jan. 5 was the 200th win for head coach Fran Dunphy in his 10 seasons at Temple. He is now one of just five Division I coaches with 200 or more wins at two different schools, while also taking each school to six or more NCAA Tournaments.
• Junior point guard Josh Brown hit a jumper in the lane with 2.6 seconds left in the UConn win. It was the second time Brown has hit a late shot for the win, also doing so in a 61-60 victory at Memphis last season.
• The Owls have just one loss in their last four games, a 77-50 home defeat by Houston on Jan. 2. It was one of only three 20-point losses at the Liacouras Center in Dunphy's tenure.
• On Dec. 29 the Owls won 77-70 at #22/23 Cincinnati in their American Athletic Conference opener. The wins at Cincinnati and UConn mark the program's ninth season in a row with at least one victory over a Top 25 team.
• Four players reached double figures in scoring in both the UConn and Cincinnati wins, led by senior Quenton DeCosey with 19 points against the Bearcats and 15 points against the Huskies.
• Senior forward Jaylen Bond notched his 10th career double-double and fourth of the season at UConn, adding a game-high 10 rebounds to 11 points.
• Temple hit a season-high 30 free throws (30-of-38, 78.9 percent) in its win against Delaware State on Dec. 19, with DeCosey making 12-of-15 and Brown hitting a perfect 8-of-8. DeCosey recorded his third career double-double in the victory, adding a career-high 12 rebounds to a team-best 20 points.
• Sophomore forward Obi Enechionyia and Brown both recorded their first career double-doubles against Saint Joseph's on Dec. 13. Enechionyia added a career-high 13 rebounds to a career-high 25 points, while Brown grabbed a career-high 12 boards and scored a season-high 13 points.
• As a team, the Owls are ranked second in the nation in fewest turnovers per game at 9.1. They have recorded single digit turnovers in eight of 13 games, tallying as few as five (vs. Delaware on 11/29).
• Temple's first three losses of 2015-16 were to teams ranked in the Top 25. This season marked the first time in program history the Owls had faced three ranked teams in their first four games.
• DeCosey is Temple's leading scorer this season with 14.9 points per game, ranking sixth in the American Athletic Conference, and has scored in double figures in 11 of 13 contests.
• 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.
• East Carolina is coming off a pair of conference losses to UCF and Tulsa, and stands at 8-7 overall. The Pirates are led by sophomore guard B.J. Tyson with 14.6 ppg and junior guard Caleb White with 13.7 ppg.

Temple vs. East Carolina
• Temple and East Carolina are meeting for the third time ever after beginning the all-time series last season.
• The Owls have won both games against the Pirates, earning a 66-53 victory at home on Feb. 14 last year and following it up with a 70-56 win on the road on March 5.
• ECU head coach Jeff Lebo is 2-2 all-time against Temple, with the two wins coming in 2004-05 and 2005-06 while he was head coach at Auburn.

In Elite Company
With Temple's seventh win of the season at #23/24 UConn on Jan. 5, head coach Fran Dunphy joined Roy Williams, Eddie Sutton, Lou Henson and Rick Pitino as the only coaches in NCAA Division I history to win 200 games at two different schools while also reaching the NCAA Tournament six times with each program.

Clutch Shooter
Junior point guard Josh Brown hit a jumper in the lane with 2.6 seconds remaining at #23/24 UConn on Jan. 5, lifting the Owls to a 55-53 win. It was the second such game-winning shot for Brown in his career, as he also hit a shot with two seconds left that gave the Owls a 61-60 win at Memphis on Feb. 7, 2015.

Temple vs. the Polls
For the first time since the 1997-98 season, Temple has now won two road games against opponents ranked in the Top 25. The two wins alone are the most against ranked opponents since 2012-13. Last season, the Owls faced Top 25 teams just four times. This season, they have already faced five ranked opponents and are likely to face at least two more (SMU and Villanova).

Loaded Schedule
Temple faced Top 25 teams in three of its first four games for the first time in program history. Twice before, in 1990-91 and 1993-94, the Owls faced ranked teams in three of their first five games. The Owls now have two wins over Top 25 teams, both coming in the last three games. On Dec. 29, Temple won 77-70 at #22/23 Cincinnati, and on Jan. 5 the Owls edged out #23/24 UConn, 55-53. This season now marks the ninth in a row in which Temple has a win over a Top 25 team.

Three of Temple's six losses this season have come to teams that were ranked in the Top 25 at the time of the game (#1/1 North Carolina, #22/20 Butler and #16/16 Utah) with another coming on the road against 2015 NCAA finalist Wisconsin. The combined won-loss record of all six teams the Owls have lost to is 70-21 (.769).

Current Records of Opponents to Defeat Temple in 2015-16 (as of Jan. 7)
North Carolina, 14-2
Houston, 13-2
Butler, 12-3
Saint Joseph's, 11-3
Utah, 11-4
Wisconsin, 9-7

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Men's Basketball Hosts East Carolina Saturday Night at 9:00

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Players Mentioned

Jaylen Bond

Josh Brown

Quenton DeCosey

Obi Enechionyia

Temple University Athletics