Men's Basketball Hosts #25 UCF for Senior Day on Saturday

PHILADELPHIA - With plenty on the line, Temple men's basketball will nonetheless take time to honor a number of worthy people prior to hosting #25 UCF on Saturday, March 9 at 4 p.m. (ESPN2 / 1210 AM WPHT). The Owls (22-8, 12-5) and Knights (23-6, 13-4) have both clinched first-round byes at next week's American Athletic Conference Championships, but are still each vying for the higher seed.

Honors & Promotions
> Senior Day: Temple's two seniors, Shizz Alston, Jr. and Ernest Aflakpui, will be honored in a pregame ceremony along with four-year managers Mike Collins and Josh Zeloyle.
> Fran Dunphy: The Owls' 13th-year head coach will be honored prior to coaching in his final home game. Dunphy all-time home record with Temple is 129-41 (.759).
> Al Shrier: The 65-year veteran of Temple Athletics, Hall of Fame Sports Information Director Al Shrier, passed away on March 4 at the age of 88. He will be honored in a moment of silence prior to the game.
> Military Appreciation Day: Join us as we recognize local military personnel in-game.
> 16th Annual Owl Club Auction: Join us for the 16th Annual Owl Club Silent Auction for your chance to bid on great sports memorabilia, travel packages, and experiences while supporting Temple Athletics.
> Seats for Soldiers: Seats for Soldiers is a program that allows fans the opportunity to purchase tickets for active duty military members and their families. Each $10 purchase adds a seat for a military member to attend our Military Appreciation Game. Fans can add seats with their season ticket purchase, single game purchase, or other ticket package purchase. Call 215-204-TIXX to make your donation today.
> Drums of Thunder Halftime Act: The Hillside Elementary School's Drums of Thunder will be performing during halftime. This is one act you do not want to miss!

Scouting Temple
> Senior guard Shizz Alston, Jr. exploded for a career-high 34 points on 12-of-14 shooting from the field to lead the Owls to a 78-71 win at UConn on March 7 and clinch a first-round bye at the American Athletic Conference Championships next week.
> The Owls have won five of their last six games and have gone 12-2 at home this season.
> In Temple's most recent home game, the Owls used a 15-0 run, stretching from the first half to the second, to pull away from Tulane in an 80-69 win. Junior Quinton Rose scored a career-high 29 points, hitting 13-of-21 from the field.
> The Owls beat Tulsa, 84-73 on Feb. 23, for their 20th win of the season. Dunphy has now guided the Owls to 20 or more wins in nine of his 13 seasons.
> Alston was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll for a fifth time on March 4. He has scored 20 or more points in each of the last six games and ranks second in the AAC (by 0.1 ppg) with 19.6 points per game.
> The career lists at Temple have Alston moving up in both assists (404, eighth all-time) and points (1,535, 16th all-time).
> Alston has hit at least one three-pointer in 41 straight games to set a new Temple record, surpassing the 39-game streak by Dionte Christmas (2006-08).
> The Owls defeated then-#17/15 Houston at home on Jan. 9, making it 12 seasons in a row that Temple has defeated a Top 25 program. Temple was the only team to defeat the Cougars through their first 28 games until UCF became the second team to do so on March 2. Houston is now 28-2 overall and ranked #12/12 in the national polls.
> Rose and sophomore guard Nate Pierre-Louis average 16.7 and 13.6 points per game, respectively, to rank second and third on the team. Rose has tallied eight 20-point performances while Pierre-Louis has four.

Scouting UCF
> The Knights cracked the Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time since 2011 this week, earning a #25 ranking.
> UCF has won four in a row and seven of its last eight, most recently taking down the league's top two teams. The Knights earned a road upset of #6 Houston, 69-64 on March 2, and upset #19 Cincinnati 58-55 at home on March 7.
> Redshirt senior guard B.J. Taylor averages a team-best 16.5 points per game while transfer and redshirt junior guard Aubrey Dawkins (son of head coach Johnny Dawkins) has scored in double figures in 26 of 29 games and averages 14.7 ppg.
> The Knights' 7-6 senior center Tacko Fall leads the team with 7.3 rebounds per game. Fall leads the AAC with a 75.4 percent field goal percentage and is eighth in the nation with 2.5 blocked shots per game.
> The Knights were picked to win the AAC, a first for the program in its Division I history.

Series History vs. UCF
> Temple and UCF are meeting for the 13th time, with the all-time series tied at 6-6.
> The Knights have dominated the series of late, winning four of the last five including a 78-73 decision in Orlando earlier this season on Jan. 2.
> UCF had won three straight before Temple won 75-56 on its Senior Day near the end of last season. The victory avenged a 60-39 defeat at UCF earlier in the year on Jan. 7.
> UCF swept Temple in the regular season in 2016-17 (77-53 at UCF, 71-69 at Temple).
> Prior to UCF's recent three-game streak, the Owls had won four straight against the Knights, sweeping the season series in both 2015-16 and 2014-15.

Men's Basketball Hosts #25 UCF for Senior Day on Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Ernest Aflakpui

Shizz Alston, Jr.

Nate Pierre-Louis

Quinton Rose

Temple University Athletics