Men's Basketball Completes Homestand Tuesday with Vanderbilt

PHILADELPHIA - Fresh off a 68-64 win over #16 Villanova, Temple (1-1) closes out its three-game homestand to open the season Tuesday with Vanderbilt (7 pm/ESPN+/1210 AM WPHT).

SCOUTING TEMPLE
> Temple evened its record with a 68-64 win over #16 Villanova on Nov. 11 at the Liacouras Center.
> Preseason First Team All-American Athletic Conference selection Damian Dunn leads the Owls and the conference in scoring at 25.5 points per game. He has led Temple in scoring in both games and currently has made all 22 free throws on the season to lead the nation in FT percentage.
> Preseason Second Team All-AAC Khalif Battle is averaging 18.5 point per game and tallied 21 points against Villanova. He leads Temple in three-pointers with six while coming off the bench in both games.
> UCF transfer Jamille Reynolds had a career night against Villanova, posting his first career double-double (14 pts, 12 rebs.) and set a new career-high with his first double-figure rebound game. He leads the Owls in rebounding (7.0 rpg) while ranking third in scoring (10.5 ppg)
> Temple has struggled from the field, shooting 38.6 percent from the field and 23.3 percent from three.
> The Owls have been exceptional from the line, led by Dunn, and are making 84.3 percent from the charity stripe.

SCOUTING VANDERBILT
> Vanderbilt has dropped its first two games of the season, falling to AAC member Memphis, 76-67, and then to Southern Mississippi, 60-48.
> Jordan Wright leads a balanced scoring attack, averaging 9.5 points per game. He led the Commodores in 6.4 rebounds per game (11th in the SEC) and was second on the team with 12.3 points per game last season.
> Myles Stute, who led the SEC in 3-point shooting (43.2 percent) last season, averages 8.0 ppg., with Tyrin Lawrence (7.0 ppg), Quentin Millora-Brown (6.5 ppg) and Colin Smith (6.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg) right behind.
> Vanderbilt is struggling to score, averaging a mere 57.5 points per game while shooting 36.7 percent from the field and 27.3 percent from three.

SERIES HISTORY
> Temple and Vanderbilt are meeting for the fifth time, with the Owls holding a 3-1 lead in the series.
> The teams played twice in the 1949-50 season with the Owls winning their season opener in Philadelphia against the Commodores, 55-35, on Dec. 3 and Vandy taking the second game, in Nashville, 49-45, on Dec. 19.
> The last meeting of the 20th century came on March 26, 1993 when Temple defeated #8 Vanderbilt, 67-59, in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in Seattle.
> Last year's matchup was the first in 28 years, with Temple topping the Commodores 72-68 in Music City in a thrilling overtime fashion.

LAST MEETING: Temple 72, @Vanderbilt 68 (OT) (Dec. 7, 2021)
> Tai Strickland returned to action and scored a career-high 21 points, while Damian Dunn added 18 and a huge three in overtime to lead Temple to its fifth straight win, a 72-68 road victory over Vanderbilt Tuesday evening at Memorial Gymnasium.
> Temple took control of a defensive battle after intermission, scoring 13 of the first 15 second half points to take a 39-27 lead with just under 12 minutes to play.
>The Owls looked to have the game in hand, holding a 50-41 lead with 1:28 left.
> After scoring just 16 points over the first 18-plus minutes, the Commodores scored 17 over the last 69 seconds with Scottie Pippen, Jr (16 pts), draining a corner three with 0.5 seconds left to send the game to overtime.
> Vanderbilt kept up the pressure in the extra frame, scoring the first five points, but the Owls rebounded with a 9-2 run to take a 67-65 lead with 1:16 left.
> Jamarie Mann (15 pts) made one of two free to make it 67-66, but Dunn answered with a three-pointer to give the Owls a two-possession lead (70-66).
> Mann made a basket to cut it to 70-68, but Williams iced the contest with two free throws with 12 seconds to play.

LAST GAME: @Temple 68, #16 Villanova 64 (Nov. 11, 2022)
> Damian Dunn made two free throws with 1.1 seconds to play to lift Temple to a 68-64 win over #16 Villanova at the Liacouras Center. It marked the Owls' first win over the Wildcats since 2012.
> Dunn led all scorers for the second straight game with 22 points while his backcourt mate Khalif Battle added 21. Jamille Reynolds added his first career double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds.
Dunn extended his consecutive made free throw streak to 29, dating back to the final regular season game against USF (3/6/22). His streak ranks fourth on the school's all-time list behind Shizz Alston, Jr. (52, 2016-17), Lynn Greer (49, 2001) and Khalif Wyatt (32, 2012-13).
> The win was the first for Temple against a ranked opponent since Jan. 15, 2020, a 65-53 victory over #16 Wichita State. It also snapped a six-game losing streak to ranked foes.
> Temple led through the first 29 minutes, and by 24-11 early with 7:09 to play in the half.
> Villanova finally took its first lead, 47-45, on three free throws by Caleb Daniels with 10:41 to play. That would be the first of 14 lead changes until Dunn's final free throws.
> Daniels (19) and Eric Dixon (18) led the Wildcats.

TRADING PLACES
> Head coaches Aaron McKie and Jerry Stackhouse have something in common. The two NBA greats were involved in a trade (12/18/97) with Stackhouse and Eric Montross going from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Detroit Pistons and the Sixers getting Stackhouse was dealt to the Detroit Pistons for Theo Ratliff, Aaron McKie and future considerations.

RECORDS ARE MADE TO BE TIED?
> On Monday, Damian Dunn tied Lynn Greer (vs. SJU, 2/2/02) for the most free throws made without a miss in Temple Basketball history, each converting 18-of-18 from the charity stripe.
> This is nothing new for Dunn, who has a knack of getting to foul line. He has averaged 5.2 made per game on 64 attempts for his entire career.
> Dunn added four more free throws, extending his current streak to 29 straight without a miss (dating back to Mar. 6, 2022). It ranks as the fourth longest streak in Temple history behind Shizz Alston, Jr. (52, 2016-17), Lynn Greer (49, 2001) and Khalif Wyatt (32, 2012-13).
> As a redshirt freshman in 2020-21, he averaged 6.1 made and 7.9 attempts per game ranking fifth nationally in both categories.

Temple University Athletics

Men's Basketball Completes Homestand Tuesday with Vanderbilt

Next Event

Related Videos