Men's Basketball to Celebrate Hooter the Owl's Birthday on Sunday vs. Houston

PHILADELPHIA - In the 12 years Temple men's basketball has celebrated Hooter the Owl's birthday, the Owls have never lost on that day. Temple (15-11, 7-7) will put that 12-0 mark on the line against Houston (20-5, 10-3) on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 4 p.m. (CBSSN / 1210 AM WPHT).

Promotions
> Temple is celebrating Hooter the Owl's birthday for the 13th year in a row on Sunday.
> Join us for an afternoon full of activities, meet and greets with tons of local mascots, and more! Plus, take part in the autograph session with the Temple players after the game.
> Temple has a strong tradition of success on Hooter's birthday, going 12-0 all-time since the first celebration during the 2005-06 season.

Scouting Temple
> Temple has seen a true turnaround as of late, having won seven of its last nine including a five-game streak. The Owls' only two losses in the stretch are on the road to nationally ranked teams (#9/8 Cincinnati, #19/18 Wichita State).
> One of the wins was also against Wichita State, as the Owls upset the then-16th ranked Shockers 81-79 in overtime at home for the second of their five consecutive victories.
> Both teams put up huge numbers in the Owls' most recent loss at #19/18 Wichita State by a score of 93-86. The Owls scored 56 first-half points on 63.3 percent shooting, while the Shockers scored 51 second-half points on 66.7 percent shooting. Temple hit a season-high 16 three-pointers, the most for the Owls since a win at Delaware in 2014-15.
> Five players scored in double figures at WSU, led by senior forward Obi Enechionyia with 17 points (4-of-7 3-pointers). Freshman De'Vondre Perry had a career game, coming off the bench to hit 5-of-7 from long range (career-high 15 points).
> The Owls notched their 1,900th program win with a 90-73 defeat of ECU on Feb. 7, led by sophomore Quinton Rose with 23 points. Rose was one of six to reach double figures in scoring for Temple, as the Owls achieved that feat for the first time since an overtime win vs. La Salle on Nov. 11, 2016.
> Rose, who leads Temple and ranks eighth in the American Athletic Conference with 14.9 points per game, has scored 20 or more points eight times this season and has reached double figures in scoring in six straight games.

Scouting Houston
> The Cougars are currently tied for second in the AAC at 10-3, and have won four straight. Most recently, they pulled off a big upset of #5/5 Cincinnati at home, winning 67-62 on Feb. 15.
> Houston also upset then seventh-ranked Wichita State on Jan. 20, 73-59.
> Senior guard Rob Gray (17.5 ppg / 3rd in AAC) has recorded 11 20+ point performances this season including two outings of more than 30 points.
> Junior guard Corey Davis Jr. (12.7 ppg) leads the AAC with 2.7 3-point field goals made per game and ranksfourth in the league in 3-point field goal percentage (43.6).
> The Cougars have outrebounded all but four of their opponents in 2017-18.
> Houston went 21-11 in 2016-17 and lost 78-75 to Akron in the NIT First Round.

All-Time Series
> Temple and Houston are meeting for the eighth time, with Houston holding a 5-2 lead in the series.
> Houston edged Temple 76-73 in this season's earlier meeting on Dec. 30, and the Cougars won the only contest the two teams played in 2016-17, besting the Owls 79-66 in Houston on Jan. 28, 2017.
> In 2015-16, Houston won 77-50 on the Owls' home court on Jan. 2, but Temple rebounded for a 69-66 come-from-behind road win on Feb. 21.
> Houston won both meetings in 2013-14, but the Owls won 66-54 at home in the only meeting of the 2014-15 season.
> Fourth-year Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson is 3-3 against Temple, losing for the first time 61-43 (March 17, 1996) in the NCAA First Round while he was the head coach at Oklahoma.

Men's Basketball to Celebrate Hooter the Owl's Birthday on Sunday vs. Houston

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Players Mentioned

Obi Enechionyia

De'Vondre Perry

Quinton Rose

Temple University Athletics