Men's Basketball Looks to Keep Momentum Going at #9/8 Cincinnati on Wednesday

Wednesday, January 24

Highland Heights, Ky.

9:00 p.m.

Temple University

Cincinnati

Men's Basketball Looks to Keep Momentum Going at #9/8 Cincinnati on Wednesday

1.23.18 | Men's Basketball

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PHILADELPHIA - In search of win number three in a row, Temple men's basketball heads to #9/8 Cincinnati for a 9 p.m. contest on Wednesday, Jan. 24 (CBSSN / 1210 AM WPHT). The Bearcats (17-2, 6-0) have won a nations-best 36 straight home games, but the Owls (10-9, 2-5) were the last team to beat Cincinnati at home in 2015.

Scouting Temple
> Temple is coming off a 2-0 week with a nail-biting, 59-58 win vs. Tulsa and a 60-51 Philadelphia Big 5 win at Penn.
> The Owls led by 12 early in the second half at Penn, but the Quakers came all the way back and took a three-point lead with four minutes left before not scoring again. Temple closed the game with 12 unanswered points.
> After dropping two straight heartbreakers at home, the third close game proved to be a charm for the Owls, who got a late go-ahead shot from senior Josh Brown and used strong defense all game long but particularly on the final possession to defeat Tulsa, 59-58 on Jan. 17.
> Cincinnati has won a nation-leading 36 straight home games. Temple was the last team to defeat the Bearcats at home, doing so on Dec. 29, 2015 inside Fifth Third Arena by a score of 77-50.
> Senior forward Obi Enechionyia scored 15 points in both of the Owls' wins last week, also adding a team-high nine rebounds at Penn, and was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll for a second time.
> Sophomore Quinton Rose led Temple with 19 points in the Tulsa win, and freshman J.P. Moorman II led the Owls with seven rebounds including a huge offensive board that led to Brown's game-winning bucket.
> Ten of Temple's 19 games have been decided by five or fewer points, and the Owls are 5-5 in those contests.
> Rose is the Owls' leading scorer with 14.4 ppg, ranking 11th in the league. Junior Shizz Alston, Jr. is averaging 13.3 ppg (14th in the AAC).
> The Owls have defeated at least one Top 25 team for 10 straight seasons (2007-08 through 2016-17).

Scouting Cincinnati
> The #9/8 Bearcats are 17-2 overall and have won 10 straight, including a buzzer-beating, 55-53 win over the Owls in Philadelphia on Jan. 4.
> Apart from the Temple game, Cincinnati has defeated its other nine opponents in its last 10 games by an average margin of 22.2 points.
> Four players average in double figures in scoring for Cincinnati, led by junior guard Jacob Evans (13.9 ppg) and senior forward Gary Clark (12.8 ppg). Clark is also the team's leading rebounder with 9.1 rpg (1st in the AAC).
> Last year's Cincinnati team went 30-6 overall (second-most wins in school history) and advanced to the NCAA Second Round.
> The Bearcats received a league-high seven first-place votes and 116 points overall in the AAC preseason poll to finish ahead of conference newcomer Wichita State, who gathered five first-place votes and 115 points overall.

All-Time Series
> Temple and Cincinnati are meeting for the 30th time with the Bearcats holding a 20-9 lead in the all-time series.
> The Bearcats handed Temple a heartbreaking loss earlier this month when Jacob Evans hit a long jumper with one second left to give #19/20 Cincinnati a 55-53 win at the Liacouras Center.
> Last season, a ranked Cincinnati team twice defeated Temple, winning 56-50 in Philadelphia on Dec. 28 as the #23 team, and topping the Owls 81-74 in Cincinnati as the #20 team on Jan. 18.
> The Owls had previously won three straight and swept the regular season series in 2015-16, winning 77-70 at #22/23 Cincinnati on Dec. 29, 2015 and coming out on top in double overtime, 67-65 at home on Jan. 16, 2016.
> Before being members of The American, the last time the teams had met was on Dec. 9, 2006 at the Atlantic City Lenape Trail Classic at Boardwalk Hall. Cincinnati won that game, 80-71.
> Temple won three contests in a row before 2006, each time upsetting Cincinnati as the Bearcats were ranked #11, 4 and 1.
> On Feb. 20, 2000, the 15th-ranked Owls upset top-ranked Cincinnati 77-69 on the Bearcats' home court.
> Temple advanced to the Sweet Sixteen on March 14, 1999, after unranked TU topped #11 Cincinnati, 77-69 in the NCAA 2nd Round.