Men's Basketball Hosts Former Conference Foe UMass on Wednesday

PHILADELPHIA - There's plenty of history between Temple men's basketball and the Owls' next opponent, UMass, coming to the Liacouras Center for a 7 p.m. game on Wednesday, Dec. 12 (ESPN3 / 1210 AM WPHT). The Owls (7-2) and the Minutemen (6-4) will be meeting for the 68th time, but only the second since the schools stopped being Atlantic 10 Conference opponents.

Promotions
> Help Temple Athletics and donate a new unwrapped toy in the ticket office lobby at Wednesday's game. Anyone that donates a toy on the day of the game will receive $5 off their ticket purchase. One ticket offer per person. All toys will be donated to Toys for Tots during the holiday season. For more information or to purchase tickets, please call 215-204-TIXX.
> Fans at Wednesday's game will be treated to the "Zero Gravity Halftime Show." This jump-roping act will have you at the edge of your seat!

Scouting Temple
> Temple is an impressive 7-2 to start the season, which is the Owls' best start since the 2012-13 team went 10-2 before dropping its third game.
> The Owls recently faced their first Top 25 team of the season in #21/21 Villanova, losing a second-half lead and dropping a 69-59 decision on the Wildcats' home court. Last season was the 11th in a row in which Temple defeated a Top 25 program, beating #16/16 Wichita State in overtime at home, 81-79 on Feb. 1.
> The Owls trailed by their largest halftime margin of the season on Dec. 1 at Saint Joseph's (eight points) before coming back with a late run to pull ahead. They kept the lead thanks to their best free-throw shooting in two years, making 17-of-18 at the line.
> Four players scored in double figures as the Owls held off Missouri, 79-77, in their first true road game of the season on Nov. 27. Junior guard Quinton Rose scored 18 points and tallied four steals, while senior guard Shizz Alston, Jr. added six assists to 15 points.
> Alston and Rose are averaging 16.9 and 16.7 points per game, respectively, to lead the team and rank sixth and eighth in the American Athletic Conference.
> Senior Ernest Aflakpui tied his career high with 12 rebounds at Missouri and ranks fourth in the AAC with 7.2 rpg. Sophomore Nate Pierre-Louis tied his career high with 13 boards at Saint Joseph's and ranks seventh in the AAC with 6.9 rpg.
> Rose and Pierre-Louis are averaging 2.3 and 2.0 steals per game, respectively, to lead the team and rank third and fourth in the conference. As a team, Temple ranks 12th in the nation with 8.9 steals per game.
> Alston, Jr. scored 25 points vs. Georgia, getting his 1,000th career point early in a 16-point second half. He is the 53rd player in program history to reach the 1,000 point plateau and has now scored 1,098 points to rank 46th.
> Rose has scored in double figures in all but one game and is eyeing the 1,000-point mark, currently with 965 points.

Scouting UMass
> The Minutemen have been up and down so far this season and have gone 2-2 in their last four games. Most recently, UMass edged Providence on the road, 79-78 on Dec. 7.
> Junior guard Luwane Pipkins (20.5 ppg) leads four players averaging in double figures in scoring for UMass, which has posted an A-10 best average of 81 points per game as a team.
> Fifth-year center Rashaan Holloway (9.9 ppg) leads UMass with 7.0 rebounds per game and has a league-best field-goal percentage of .714 (45-63).
> UMass went 13-20 overall in 2017-18 in its first year under head coach Matt McCall.

Series History vs. UMass
> Temple and UMass are meeting for the 68th time, but only the second since the schools stopped being conference opponents in the Atlantic 10 following the 2012-13 season.
> The Owls lead the all-time series 44-23 with a commanding 24-4 lead in home games.
> UMass has won the last two meetings, including a 70-67 decision in Amherst on Nov. 17, 2016. The Minutemen also won the last time the teams competed together in the A-10, pulling out a 79-74 victory in the A-10 Tournament Quarterfinals at the Barclays Center on March 15, 2013.
> Three of the last nine meetings between the teams went to overtime, with all three being Temple wins. The Owls are 5-1 against UMass in overtime contests.
> Overall, Temple has won six of the last 10 games in the series, and 15 of the last 23.

Men's Basketball Hosts Former Conference Foe UMass on Wednesday

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Players Mentioned

Ernest Aflakpui

Shizz Alston, Jr.

Nate Pierre-Louis

Quinton Rose

Temple University Athletics