Temple University Athletics
Monday, November 21
Brooklyn, N.Y.
9:30 PM
Temple University
vs
St. John's
Photo by: Zamani Feelings
Men’s Basketball Opens Empire Classic Against St. John’s Monday
11.20.22 | Men's Basketball
BROOKYLN - Two of the Top 10 winningest programs square off in the first round of the Empire Classic as Temple, ranked fifth in Division I wins (1,963), faces St. John's, ninth with 1,908 victories on Monday at 9:30 pm (ESPNU/1210 AM WPHT).
It is just the second meeting in the last 22 years between the teams with the Red Storm taking the last two and five of the last six encounters.
SCOUTING TEMPLE
> Preseason First Team All-American Athletic Conference selection Damian Dunn ranks eighth in the nation in scoring at 24.0 points per game. He has led Temple in scoring in three of the team's four games and tallied a career-high 38 points in the Owls' 89-87 overtime loss to Vanderbilt, the most points by a Temple player since 2004.
> Dunn, who is shooting a blistering 57.4 percent from the field, 55 percent from three (26th in nation) and 96.9 percent from the line (35th NCAA), making 31-of-32 overall. He leads the nation in free throws made per game (31, 7.8 pg.) and attempted (32, 8.0 pg.)
> Three other Owls average double figure scorers: preseason second team All-AAC Khalif Battle (15.8 ppg), Jamille Reynolds (13.3 ppg., 7.5 rpg.) and Zach Hicks (10.0 ppg). Battle scored a season-high 24 points in the Rutgers game to garner MVP honors of the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase.
> Hysier Miller posted his first career double-double (12 pts, 10 assists) against Rutgers, leads the team and ranks third in the AAC in assists per game (5.5 apg.)
> Hicks, the Owls top three-point shooter last season, broke out of a two-game slump to six-of-13 from distance against Vanderbilt for a season high 20 points. He is nine-of-22 from long range (40.9%) over the last two games.
SCOUTING ST. JOHN'S
> St. John's is off to a 4-0 start on the season, but all four wins have come at home, the last against Nebraska, 70-50, on Nov. 17.
> Junior forward David Jones leads four double-figure scorers with a 17.8 average. He also is second on the team in rebounding at 8.0 per game.
> Senior center Joel Soriano has been a double-double machine, leading all Division I players with three in four games while averaging 12.8 points and 11.8 rebounds.
> Junior guard Posh Alexander (11.3 ppg.) and redshirt senior guard Montez Mathis (10.5 ppg.) also average double figures while junior Andre Curbelo (9.0 ppg.) leads the Red Storm in assists (6.3 apg.).
> SJU is averaging 85.2 points per game while shooting 50.4 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from the field.
SERIES HISTORY
> This is the 54th meeting between the schools with St. John's leading the series 32-21.
> The last meeting between the schools, currently ranked fifth and ninth on the all-time win list, came on Nov. 28, 2009, a 55-48 St. John's win at The Palestra in the Championship game of the Philly Hoop Group Classic.
> Prior to that, the last meeting was on March 16, 1990, an 81-65 St. John's win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
> The last Temple win in the series came in the 1984 NCAA Tournament as the 8th-seed Owls knocked off #9-seed St. John's in Charlotte, behind 20 points from Granger Hall. Chris Mullen led SJU with a game-high 21. It was Coach John Chaney's first NCAA Tournament win.
> Temple's last win over St. John's in New York was a 74-73 road win on Jan. 6, 1979.
LAST MEETING: St. John's 55, Temple 48, The Palestra (Nov. 28, 2009)
> DJ Kennedy led St. John's with a game-high 15 points as the Red Storm defeated Temple at the Palestra, 55-48, in the finale of the Philly Hoop Group Classic.
> This tough, low-scoring game was a throwback to the decades before when these programs played every other season at The Palestra from 1956 through 1980.
> The Owls defense, which has held five of its six opponents to 56 points or less, was up to the challenge. Offensively, however, Temple was not able to get on track.
> Temple led 22-21 following a tightly-contested first half, which featured more combined turnovers (20) than field goals (13). The second half started with the teams trading baskets, before Dwight Hardy scored eight points in a 11-0 run, including two wide-open three-pointers from the top of the key, to lift St. John's to a 34-24 lead.
> The Owls cut the lead to three, 34-31, on two free throws by freshman Rahlir Hollis Jefferson, who set season highs in points (9), rebounds (12) and minutes (29), with just under 12 minutes to play.
> Following Jefferson's free throws, the Red Storm ran off five straight points to push the margin back to eight (39-31), but then Juan Fernandez made consecutive steals, the first or a breakaway layup by Ryan Brooks and the second, he fed Moore, who was thrown to the floor by Omari Lawrence on an intentional foul.
> The Owls failed to capitalize as Ramone Moore, who had a team-high 10 points, missed both attempts, and then Lavoy Allen missed a jumper. Kennedy came down and scored for what would be a six-point swing, and a 41-33 Red Storm lead.
> The lead would extend to 10, 44-34, on three free throws by Hardy, who was fouled by Moore on a trey.
> Fernandez hit a trey, and then dished two assists to spearhead 7-1 run that brought the Owls to within four, 45-41, but the offense then stalled. Temple would miss its next seven shots while St. John's built its lead back to double-digits, 51-41, with 1:36 to play.
> The Red Storm then held off the Owls to take the win, and the unofficial Philly Hoop Group Classic title. The event organizers did not crown a champion.
> The Owls committed just six turnovers in the game, their second fewest of the season, while Rutgers turned the ball over 13 times. Temple scored 24 points off turnovers to the Scarlet Knights' eight.
LAST GAME: Temple 72, Rutgers 66, Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, @Mohegan Sun Arena (Nov. 18, 2022)
> Khalif Battle led all scorers with 24 points as Temple evened its record by defeating Rutgers, 72-66, Friday.
> Battle, who was named the game's Most Valuable Player, made eight-of-17 from the field, and drained three-of-10 from long range to spark the win. Jamille Reynolds tied his career-high with 17 points while pulling down a team-high nine rebounds.
> Hysier Miller posted his first career double-double, scoring 12 points and dishing a career-high 10 assists while Zach Hicks made three triples while scoring 10. Damian Dunn, who entered play as the nation's leading scorer, was mired in foul trouble and held to seven points.
> Clifford Omoruyi led three Rutgers (3-1) double-figure scorers with 21 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
> Temple only trailed only briefly (6-5) in the opening minutes, and held Rutgers and used a 10-2 first half run to take command early, 25-12. at the eight-minute mark.
> Battle scored all 10 of the Owls points in that key stretch.
> Trailing 38-23 at the break, Rutgers started to climb back into the contest, and used a 13-3 run to cut the deficit to 51-45 with just over six minutes to play.
> Temple then went on a 5-1 run with Miller draining a three and Battle a long two to push the margin back to double figures, 56-46, with 5:26 on the clock.
> The Owls then kept the Scarlet Knights at arm's length with Battle scoring seven straight points over a one-minute stretch to push the margin to a dozen, 67-55, with 1:38 remaining.
> After Dunn made two free throws to make it 69-59 with 52 seconds left, Rutgers went on a 7-1 run to cut the Owls lead to four, 70-66, with 13 seconds left.
> Miller then iced the win with two free throws.
Barclays History
> Temple is 4-6 at the Barclays Center since the arena opened in 2012.
> In its last game in the arena, Temple lost to Miami (Fla.), 78-77, on Dec. 17, 2019.
> The Owls split two games at the arena in 2018-19, falling to VCU (51-57) and defeating Cal (76-59) in the Legends Classic.
> In 2016, the Owls upset both #25 Florida State and #19 West Virginia over Thanksgiving to win the NIT Season Tip-Off. Earlier that calendar year, the Owls lost an overtime heartbreaker to Iowa in the NCAA First Round on March 18, 2016.
> The previous season, Temple lost 74-54 to #4/3 Duke as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic on Nov. 21, 2014. The next day, Temple lost 57-50 to UNLV.
> On Dec. 21, 2013, Temple beat LIU Brooklyn in a rout, 101-65. The Owls' first game at the Barclays Center was a 79-74 loss to UMass in the Atlantic 10 Quarterfinals on March 15, 2013.
It is just the second meeting in the last 22 years between the teams with the Red Storm taking the last two and five of the last six encounters.
SCOUTING TEMPLE
> Preseason First Team All-American Athletic Conference selection Damian Dunn ranks eighth in the nation in scoring at 24.0 points per game. He has led Temple in scoring in three of the team's four games and tallied a career-high 38 points in the Owls' 89-87 overtime loss to Vanderbilt, the most points by a Temple player since 2004.
> Dunn, who is shooting a blistering 57.4 percent from the field, 55 percent from three (26th in nation) and 96.9 percent from the line (35th NCAA), making 31-of-32 overall. He leads the nation in free throws made per game (31, 7.8 pg.) and attempted (32, 8.0 pg.)
> Three other Owls average double figure scorers: preseason second team All-AAC Khalif Battle (15.8 ppg), Jamille Reynolds (13.3 ppg., 7.5 rpg.) and Zach Hicks (10.0 ppg). Battle scored a season-high 24 points in the Rutgers game to garner MVP honors of the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase.
> Hysier Miller posted his first career double-double (12 pts, 10 assists) against Rutgers, leads the team and ranks third in the AAC in assists per game (5.5 apg.)
> Hicks, the Owls top three-point shooter last season, broke out of a two-game slump to six-of-13 from distance against Vanderbilt for a season high 20 points. He is nine-of-22 from long range (40.9%) over the last two games.
SCOUTING ST. JOHN'S
> St. John's is off to a 4-0 start on the season, but all four wins have come at home, the last against Nebraska, 70-50, on Nov. 17.
> Junior forward David Jones leads four double-figure scorers with a 17.8 average. He also is second on the team in rebounding at 8.0 per game.
> Senior center Joel Soriano has been a double-double machine, leading all Division I players with three in four games while averaging 12.8 points and 11.8 rebounds.
> Junior guard Posh Alexander (11.3 ppg.) and redshirt senior guard Montez Mathis (10.5 ppg.) also average double figures while junior Andre Curbelo (9.0 ppg.) leads the Red Storm in assists (6.3 apg.).
> SJU is averaging 85.2 points per game while shooting 50.4 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from the field.
SERIES HISTORY
> This is the 54th meeting between the schools with St. John's leading the series 32-21.
> The last meeting between the schools, currently ranked fifth and ninth on the all-time win list, came on Nov. 28, 2009, a 55-48 St. John's win at The Palestra in the Championship game of the Philly Hoop Group Classic.
> Prior to that, the last meeting was on March 16, 1990, an 81-65 St. John's win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
> The last Temple win in the series came in the 1984 NCAA Tournament as the 8th-seed Owls knocked off #9-seed St. John's in Charlotte, behind 20 points from Granger Hall. Chris Mullen led SJU with a game-high 21. It was Coach John Chaney's first NCAA Tournament win.
> Temple's last win over St. John's in New York was a 74-73 road win on Jan. 6, 1979.
LAST MEETING: St. John's 55, Temple 48, The Palestra (Nov. 28, 2009)
> DJ Kennedy led St. John's with a game-high 15 points as the Red Storm defeated Temple at the Palestra, 55-48, in the finale of the Philly Hoop Group Classic.
> This tough, low-scoring game was a throwback to the decades before when these programs played every other season at The Palestra from 1956 through 1980.
> The Owls defense, which has held five of its six opponents to 56 points or less, was up to the challenge. Offensively, however, Temple was not able to get on track.
> Temple led 22-21 following a tightly-contested first half, which featured more combined turnovers (20) than field goals (13). The second half started with the teams trading baskets, before Dwight Hardy scored eight points in a 11-0 run, including two wide-open three-pointers from the top of the key, to lift St. John's to a 34-24 lead.
> The Owls cut the lead to three, 34-31, on two free throws by freshman Rahlir Hollis Jefferson, who set season highs in points (9), rebounds (12) and minutes (29), with just under 12 minutes to play.
> Following Jefferson's free throws, the Red Storm ran off five straight points to push the margin back to eight (39-31), but then Juan Fernandez made consecutive steals, the first or a breakaway layup by Ryan Brooks and the second, he fed Moore, who was thrown to the floor by Omari Lawrence on an intentional foul.
> The Owls failed to capitalize as Ramone Moore, who had a team-high 10 points, missed both attempts, and then Lavoy Allen missed a jumper. Kennedy came down and scored for what would be a six-point swing, and a 41-33 Red Storm lead.
> The lead would extend to 10, 44-34, on three free throws by Hardy, who was fouled by Moore on a trey.
> Fernandez hit a trey, and then dished two assists to spearhead 7-1 run that brought the Owls to within four, 45-41, but the offense then stalled. Temple would miss its next seven shots while St. John's built its lead back to double-digits, 51-41, with 1:36 to play.
> The Red Storm then held off the Owls to take the win, and the unofficial Philly Hoop Group Classic title. The event organizers did not crown a champion.
> The Owls committed just six turnovers in the game, their second fewest of the season, while Rutgers turned the ball over 13 times. Temple scored 24 points off turnovers to the Scarlet Knights' eight.
LAST GAME: Temple 72, Rutgers 66, Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, @Mohegan Sun Arena (Nov. 18, 2022)
> Khalif Battle led all scorers with 24 points as Temple evened its record by defeating Rutgers, 72-66, Friday.
> Battle, who was named the game's Most Valuable Player, made eight-of-17 from the field, and drained three-of-10 from long range to spark the win. Jamille Reynolds tied his career-high with 17 points while pulling down a team-high nine rebounds.
> Hysier Miller posted his first career double-double, scoring 12 points and dishing a career-high 10 assists while Zach Hicks made three triples while scoring 10. Damian Dunn, who entered play as the nation's leading scorer, was mired in foul trouble and held to seven points.
> Clifford Omoruyi led three Rutgers (3-1) double-figure scorers with 21 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
> Temple only trailed only briefly (6-5) in the opening minutes, and held Rutgers and used a 10-2 first half run to take command early, 25-12. at the eight-minute mark.
> Battle scored all 10 of the Owls points in that key stretch.
> Trailing 38-23 at the break, Rutgers started to climb back into the contest, and used a 13-3 run to cut the deficit to 51-45 with just over six minutes to play.
> Temple then went on a 5-1 run with Miller draining a three and Battle a long two to push the margin back to double figures, 56-46, with 5:26 on the clock.
> The Owls then kept the Scarlet Knights at arm's length with Battle scoring seven straight points over a one-minute stretch to push the margin to a dozen, 67-55, with 1:38 remaining.
> After Dunn made two free throws to make it 69-59 with 52 seconds left, Rutgers went on a 7-1 run to cut the Owls lead to four, 70-66, with 13 seconds left.
> Miller then iced the win with two free throws.
Barclays History
> Temple is 4-6 at the Barclays Center since the arena opened in 2012.
> In its last game in the arena, Temple lost to Miami (Fla.), 78-77, on Dec. 17, 2019.
> The Owls split two games at the arena in 2018-19, falling to VCU (51-57) and defeating Cal (76-59) in the Legends Classic.
> In 2016, the Owls upset both #25 Florida State and #19 West Virginia over Thanksgiving to win the NIT Season Tip-Off. Earlier that calendar year, the Owls lost an overtime heartbreaker to Iowa in the NCAA First Round on March 18, 2016.
> The previous season, Temple lost 74-54 to #4/3 Duke as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic on Nov. 21, 2014. The next day, Temple lost 57-50 to UNLV.
> On Dec. 21, 2013, Temple beat LIU Brooklyn in a rout, 101-65. The Owls' first game at the Barclays Center was a 79-74 loss to UMass in the Atlantic 10 Quarterfinals on March 15, 2013.
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