Men's Basketball Hosts USF Sunday in Opener of Two-Game Series

Sunday, February 21

2:00 P.M.

Temple University

USF

Photo by: Zamani Feelings

Men's Basketball Hosts USF Sunday in Opener of Two-Game Series

2.20.21 | Men's Basketball

Game Notes Watch (ESPN+) Live Stats Listen

PHILADELPHIA - Temple embarks on the first part of a two-game series with USF Sunday (2 pm/ESPN+/1210 AM WPHT) with the second game taking place Wednesday night in Tampa. Both teams have struggled with playing games this season as the Owls have played the fewest (13) overall contests in the conference while the Bulls have competed in the fewest conference games (9).

> Temple is looking to snap a five-game losing streak against an opponent the Owls have had the most success against in the AAC. The Owls are 11-3 against the Bulls overall, winning 11 straight before falling at home on Hooter the Owl's birthday, 64-58 last season.

Scouting Temple
> Redshirt freshman Damian Dunn leads the Owls in scoring (13.8 ppg) but missed the team's last game at Tulsa (knee) and is questionable for Sunday's contest.
> Sophomore Khalif Battle, who made his first start in the Tulsa game, is the only other TU player scoring in double figures (11.6ppg).
> Junior Jake Forrester, who tops the team in rebounding (6.4/8th AAC) and field goal percentage (.565/4th AAC), and freshman Jeremiah Williams, who is fourth in the AAC in assists (4.3), are close behind at 9.7 and 9.2 ppg.
> Senior captains De'Vondre Perry (8.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and J.P. Moorman II (6.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg) round out the Cherry and White starting five while grad transfer Brendan Barry (7.1 ppg), who leads all Division I reserves in minutes per game (27.4 mpg), tops the Owls and is third in the AAC in three-point percentage (.444).

Scouting USF
> USF has been one of the hardest hit teams in terms of Covid protocol issues, having seven straight conference games suspended from Jan. 9 to Feb. 10.
> The Bulls returned to the court against the league's top team, Houston, on Feb. 10 for the first of three losses leading to today's game.
> Senior guard David Collins (12.5 ppg/3.5 apg) leads a balanced Bulls scoring attack with its top six players averaging 7.5 points or more per game.
> Redshirt junior forward Alexis Yetna (10.0 ppg) is one of the top rebounders in the conference, ranking second in offensive rebounds per game (2.7) and tied for fourth overall (7.7).

Series History
> Temple and USF have met 13 times, with the Owls leading 11-3 in the all-time series.
> The Owls had won 10 in a row prior to falling at home last season and have never lost in Tampa (6-0).
> The first meeting in the series was nine years ago in the NCAA Second Round at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. The Bulls won by a score of 58-44 after trailing Temple 19-15 at halftime. USF also won the first-ever meeting as conference opponents on Jan. 9, 2014, 75-82, but has not won since.