Men's Basketball Hosts Penn Saturday; Looks to Clinch Share of Big 5 Title

PHILADELPHIA - With a win over Philadelphia Big 5 rival Penn, Temple men's basketball would clinch a share of the city series title for the first time since the 2012-13 season. The Owls (14-3) host the Quakers (10-6) at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 19 (CBSSN / 1210 AM WPHT).

Promotions
> Players from the 1969 NIT Champion Temple men's basketball team will be recognized at halftime of Saturday's game.
> Saturday is Dollar Dog Day, with fans being able to purchase hot dogs for $1 all game long.
> All local unions are invited to the game for Union Night. The union that brings the most people will have their photo taken on the court after the game.
> All teachers are invited to watch the game as part of Teacher Appreciation Night. Discounted tickets start at just $12! This is a great way to fundraise for your school. There will be a video board recognition for your school and an in-game recognition for select teachers and faculty. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 215-204-TIXX or email tixsales@temple.edu.
> Former Temple Football running back Paul Palmer will be recognized during the first half of the game for his recent selection to the College Football Hall of Fame.

Scouting Temple
> At 14-3 overall, Temple is off to its best start since the 2009-10 team went 17-3 before dropping its fourth game.
> With a win over Penn, the Owls can clinch a share of the Philadelphia Big 5 title for the first time since 2012-13. Temple and Villanova would both be finished at 3-1, while Penn would be 2-1 with a game vs. Saint Joseph's left to play.
> Head coach Fran Dunphy spent 17 seasons as head coach at Penn, and will be facing his former team for the final time. Dunphy is 11-1 against the Quakers in his 13 years at Temple dating back to 2006.
> Temple is 7-0 on its home court this season, and close games have nearly all gone the Owls' way, as they stand at 7-1 in games decided by five or fewer points.
> Most recently, the Owls improved to 5-2 on the road with an 85-74 win at ECU on Jan. 16. Senior guard Shizz Alston, Jr. made 7-of-10 three-point attempts and finished with a team-high 23 points, marking his eighth 20-point game.
> By knocking off previously unbeaten #17/15 Houston 73-69 on Jan. 9, Temple has now defeated a Top 25 program in 12 straight seasons.
> Sophomore Nate Pierre-Louis scored a season-tying 22 points to lead Temple to an 82-80 OT win vs. USF on Jan. 12. Pierre-Louis has averaged a team-best 19.6 ppg in the Owls' five AAC contests.
> Alston, who ranks third among all players in the AAC with 19.2 points per game, has earned two co-AAC Player of the Week awards and three Weekly Honor Roll mentions. He has twice hit the 30-point mark this season, scoring a career-high 31 points in Temple's come-from-behind win vs. UMass on Dec. 12.
> Junior Quinton Rose is averaging 16.9 ppg to rank eighth in the AAC, while also ranking tied for second with 2.6 steals per game.

Scouting Penn
> In the midst of a 10-2 start to the season, Penn upset defending national champion #17/16 Villanova to become the first Big 5 team to take down the Wildcats since 2012.
> The Quakers won at New Mexico after the Villanova victory, but have since lost four straight including a pair of overtime games against Monmouth and Princeton.
> Four players average in double figures in scoring for Penn, led by junior AJ Brodeur at 14.9 points per game to go with a team-high 8.2 rebounds per game.
> Steve Donahue, in his fourth as head coach, was an assistant coach at Penn under Dunphy from 1990-2000. Donahue is 1-3 against Temple, with the win coming during the 2010 NCAA Tournament when he was head coach at Cornell. Overall at Penn, Donahue has a record of 58-47.

Series History vs. Penn
> Temple and Penn are meeting for the 73rd time, with the Owls holding a 50-22 lead in the all-time series.
> The Owls have won the last 11 straight meetings. They won 60-51 at Penn last season and 70-62 at home the year before. The last seven games in the series have been decided by single digits.
> Penn's last win in the series came back on Jan. 24, 2007, when the Quakers edged the Owls 76-74 at the Palestra.
> Dunphy served as the head coach of the Quakers for 17 seasons (1989-2006), leading Penn to 10 Ivy League Championships, nine NCAA Tournaments and a 310-163 record over that span.

Men's Basketball Hosts Penn Saturday; Looks to Clinch Share of Big 5 Title

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Players Mentioned

Shizz Alston, Jr.

Nate Pierre-Louis

Quinton Rose

Temple University Athletics