Men's Basketball Hosts Tulsa on Saturday; Inducts Four into Ring of Honor

PHILADELPHIA - Four former greats will be inducted into the Temple Basketball Ring of Honor at halftime when the Owls (19-7, 9-4) host Tulsa (16-11, 6-8) on Saturday, Feb. 23 at noon (ESPNews / 1210 AM WPHT).

Promotions
> Saturday's game is presented by PNC Bank.
> Parent-Child Lay-Up Post-Game: All kids in 6th grade and under are invited on-court post-game with an accompanying adult to make a layup! This is your chance to shoot on the same basket as the Temple Owls! For more information or to purchase tickets, please call 215-204-TIXX.
> Junior Owls Kids Club Night: All Junior Owl Club members are invited to cheer on the Temple Owls! Each member will get a special Buy One Get one free coupon code in their bi-monthly mailer. For more information, please call 215-204-1985.
> Youth Spirit Day: All Cheer Squads and Dance Teams can perform on the court with the Temple cheer squad or Temple Diamond Gems dance team! The event begins 5 hours prior to tip-off with a meet and greet with the teams and clinic. All participants will also receive a t-shirt! For more information or to reserve your spot right now, call 215-204-TIXX.

Ring of Honor
> Four former men's basketball greats, Howard Evans (1984-88), Ed Lerner (1946-49), Tim Perry (1984-88) and the late Jerry Rullo (1941-46), will be inducted into the Temple Basketball Ring of Honor at halftime.
> Lerner and Rullo played together for one season in the 40s while Evans and Perry were on the same team all four seasons, including the 1987-88 Owls' squad that ended the regular season ranked #1 in the nation.

Scouting Temple
> Temple is coming off a 2-0 week that has the Owls just one win away from 20 for the season.
> Senior guard Shizz Alston, Jr. led TU in both of its wins last week and was named the AAC Player of the Week for a third time this season, while getting Philadelphia Big 5 Player of the Week honors for a second time.
> Alston scored a game-high 28 points in the Owls' 82-74 home win over SMU on Feb. 13, and a game-high 24 points in Temple's 70-69 overtime win at USF on Feb. 16.
> The SMU win was the 10th home victory for Temple, and the Owls now have nine 10-win seasons at the Liacouras Center under 13th-year head coach Fran Dunphy.
> The Owls' most recent loss was to Tulsa just three games ago on Feb. 9 in Temple's worst offensive performance of the season. The Owls shot a season-low 30.6 percent overall and scored a season-low 27 second-half points with a season-low 21.7 percent shooting in that period (5-for-23).
> Alston had some uncharacteristic free throw misses in Temple's OT win at USF, but is shooting 89.3 percent (108-for-121) from the free throw line this season to lead all players in the AAC and rank 12th in NCAA Division I.
> Alston and junior guard Quinton Rose average 18.7 and 16.2 points per game, respectively, to lead the team and rank second and ninth in the American Athletic Conference. Alston has scored 20 or more points 11 times this season and has earned three AAC Player of the Week awards.
> Sophomore Nate Pierre-Louis has scored in double figures in 20 games this season and ranks third on the team with 13.9 points per game.
> Temple ranks 11th in the nation with 9.0 steals per game. The Owls have posted double-digit steals in 12 games.

Scouting Tulsa
> The Golden Hurricane had lost four of five coming into their last game with the Owls on Feb. 9, but won three in a row starting with the victory over Temple.
> Tulsa stumbled in its most recent game, dropping an 81-60 home decision to Wichita State on Feb. 20.
> DaQuan Jeffries leads the team in scoring at 13.7 points per game and rebounding at 5.7 rebounds per game. Two others also average in double figures in scoring for Tulsa - Martins Igbanu (12.1 ppg) and Sterling Taplin (10.0 ppg).
> Tulsa was picked to finish ninth in the AAC Preseason Poll. The Golden Hurricane have finished better than their preseason prediction in all four seasons under head coach Frank Haith.

Series History vs. Tulsa
> Temple and Tulsa are meeting for the 11th time, and ninth as American Athletic Conference opponents after the first two meetings occurring in 1995 and 1996.
> The Golden Hurricane have had the Owls' number, going 4-0 to start the series and leading it 8-2 overall. Tulsa is the only team the Owls have never defeated on the road, going 0-5 in Oklahoma including a 76-58 loss just two weeks ago.
> Temple edged Tulsa in last season's first meeting, winning 59-58 at home on Jan. 17. The Golden Hurricane answered with a decisive win over the Owls on their own home court, 76-58 on March 4.
> The two teams met just once in 2016-17, with Tulsa edging Temple 70-68 in Philadelphia on Jan. 14.
> Temple earned its first win of the series on Feb. 4, 2016, coming back from 12 points down in the second half to win 83-79 in overtime. Tulsa responded with a 74-55 win on its home court less than 20 days later on Feb. 23.
> Tulsa head coach Frank Haith had a 1-1 record vs. Temple in his seven years at Miami (FL).

Men's Basketball Hosts Tulsa on Saturday; Inducts Four into Ring of Honor

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Players Mentioned

Shizz Alston, Jr.

Nate Pierre-Louis

Quinton Rose

Temple University Athletics