Men's Basketball Set to Host Cincinnati on Sunday

PHILADELPHIA - Two of the top four teams in the American Athletic Conference will battle it out at the Liacouras Center on Sunday, as Temple men's basketball hosts Cincinnati (17-3, 6-1) at noon (CBSSN / 1210 AM WPHT). The Owls (15-4, 5-1) are 8-1 on their home court, while the Bearcats are just 3-2 on the road.

Promotions
> Temple will celebrate the 20th Anniversary of one of its best teams, the 1998-99 Elite Eight squad. The team will be recognized in a special halftime ceremony.
> Sunday's game is being presented by the Philadelphia Federal Credit Union (PFCU) and the first 1,000 fans will receive free Temple winter gloves courtesy of PFCU.

Scouting Temple
> At 15-4 overall, Temple is off to its best start since the 2009-10 team went 19-4 before dropping its fifth game.
> The Owls have won five of their last six, most recently holding off Memphis for an 85-76 American Athletic Conference win on Jan. 24. Junior Quinton Rose scored a career-high 26 points to lead five Owls who reached double figures.
> Prior to the Memphis win, the last time five Owls had scored in double figures was Feb. 15, 2018 at #19 Wichita State.
> Temple had won four straight and was undefeated at home until a 77-70 loss to Big 5 rival Penn on Jan. 19. The Owls were the chasing team nearly all game, and got within five points near the final minute but could get no closer.
> Temple is 3-0 in overtime games this season and is 8-1 on its home court. Close games have nearly all gone the Owls' way, as they stand at 7-1 in games decided by five or fewer points.
> Shizz Alston, Jr. averages 18.5 points per game to lead the team and rank third in the American Athletic Conference. He has scored 20 or more points eight times this season and has earned two co-AAC Player of the Week awards.
> 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. He has scored in double figures in eight straight games and is second on the team in AAC games with 18.8 ppg.
> Rose is averaging 17.1 ppg to rank seventh in the AAC, while also ranking third with 2.4 steals per game.

Scouting Cincinnati
> The Bearcats have won five straight since a setback at ECU on Jan. 5, which remains Cincinnati's only AAC loss.
> Overtime wins at Tulsa and against UConn started Cincinnati's current win streak, and the Bearcats most recently took down Tulsa at home, 88-64 on Jan. 24.
> Jarron Cumberland leads Cincy with 18.1 points per game and has made 43.4 percent of his three-pointers (49-of-113) to rank second in the league.
> Behind Cumberland, four players average between 8.8 and 11 points per game in a balanced offense. One of those is Tre Scott (9.5 ppg) who leads the team with 6.5 rebounds per game.
> Cincinnati leads the AAC in three-point shooting at 35.5 percent, but also ranks last in the conference in three-point percentage defense, with opponents making 36 percent from long range.
> The Bearcats are coming off a 31-5 season that saw them win the AAC Championship and advance to the NCAA Second Round.

Series History vs. Cincinnati
> Temple and Cincinnati are meeting for the 31st time with the Bearcats holding a 21-9 lead in the all-time series.
> The Bearcats have won four straight, sweeping both meetings in each of the last two seasons. Last year's first game was a heartbreaking loss for Temple when Jacob Evans hit a long jumper with one second left to give #19/20 Cincinnati a 55-53 win at the Liacouras Center. Just 20 days later, the #9/8 Bearcats dominated in a 75-42 win on their home court.
> Cincinnati was also ranked in both games of the 2016-17 season, 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.

Men's Basketball Set to Host Cincinnati on Sunday

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Players Mentioned

Shizz Alston, Jr.

Nate Pierre-Louis

Quinton Rose

Temple University Athletics