Temple University Athletics
Photo by: Zamani Feelings
Men's Basketball Looks to Continue Hot AAC Start at South Florida
1.3.23 | Men's Basketball
TAMPA - Temple Men's Basketball will look to continue its best start to American Athletic Conference play in eight seasons when it heads to South Florida for a Wednesday night game (7 pm/ESPN+/1210 AM WPHT).
The Owls (8-7, 2-0 AAC) opened league play with wins over East Carolina and Cincinnati for its first 2-0 AAC start since the 2014-15 season. That year the team opened at 3-0, its best conference start since joining the league in 2013. Â
The Bulls (7-7, 0-1) are looking for their first league win after falling at Memphis, 93-86, on Dec. 29.
SCOUTING TEMPLE
> Khalif Battle leads the team and ranks third in the American Athletic Conference in scoring (18.3 ppg) and has scored 20 points in seven games. He also leads the AAC in threes with 45 (3.0 pg) and is tied for 29th nationally.
> Damian Dunn ranks second on the team in scoring (14.1 ppg), assists (2.6) and third in field goal percentage (.434). He tallied a career-high 38 points, the most points by an Owl since 2004, against Vanderbilt. He leads the Owls (tied 40th in NCAA) in free throws made (63). Â
> Zach Hicks (9.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg), who leads the team in three-point shooting (36-95, .375/5th AAC) and Hysier Miller (8.2 ppg, 4.3 apg/4th AAC) are the only two Owls to start all 15 games.
> Jahlil White (5.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg), the team's top perimeter defender, had a season high 14 points and career high 16 rebounds in the Owls' win over Cincinnati.Â
> Nick Jourdain (5.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.3 bpg.), who scored a season high 12 points against Cincinnati, has been on fire from the field of late, shooting 25-41 (61.0%) from the field over the last 10 games.
> Kur Jongkuch (1.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg) has started three games in place of injured big man Jamille Reynolds (11.1 ppg/6.3 rpg).
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SCOUTING SOUTH FLORIDA
> Tyler Harris averages 15.6 points (8th AAC) and has made a team-best 37 threes to lead a balanced South Florida offense. He ranks second in the AAC behind Battle at 2.64 threes per game.
> Selton Miguel, who leads USF in assists (47), is the only other Bull averaging double figures.
> Four players averaged above seven points again led by Russel Tchewa (9.9 ppg), who also tops the team in rebounding (7.4 rpg./5th AAC) and ranks fourth in the conference in field goal percentage (.609).
> The Bulls have a deep team with nine players averaging double figure minutes and only one, Harris, above 30 minutes per game (31.3).
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SERIES HISTORY
> Temple and South Florida have met 20 times, with the Owls leading 14-6 in the series.
> South Florida has won three of the last five meetings, including a 52-49 victory in
Tampa last season. That was the Bulls first home win over the Owls in eight meetings.
> The Owls had won 11 in a row prior to falling at home during the 2019-20 season.
> The teams split the two meetings last season, each winning in its own court.
> The first meeting in the series was 11 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, 82-75, but did not win again until the 2019-20 campaign.
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The Owls (8-7, 2-0 AAC) opened league play with wins over East Carolina and Cincinnati for its first 2-0 AAC start since the 2014-15 season. That year the team opened at 3-0, its best conference start since joining the league in 2013. Â
The Bulls (7-7, 0-1) are looking for their first league win after falling at Memphis, 93-86, on Dec. 29.
SCOUTING TEMPLE
> Khalif Battle leads the team and ranks third in the American Athletic Conference in scoring (18.3 ppg) and has scored 20 points in seven games. He also leads the AAC in threes with 45 (3.0 pg) and is tied for 29th nationally.
> Damian Dunn ranks second on the team in scoring (14.1 ppg), assists (2.6) and third in field goal percentage (.434). He tallied a career-high 38 points, the most points by an Owl since 2004, against Vanderbilt. He leads the Owls (tied 40th in NCAA) in free throws made (63). Â
> Zach Hicks (9.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg), who leads the team in three-point shooting (36-95, .375/5th AAC) and Hysier Miller (8.2 ppg, 4.3 apg/4th AAC) are the only two Owls to start all 15 games.
> Jahlil White (5.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg), the team's top perimeter defender, had a season high 14 points and career high 16 rebounds in the Owls' win over Cincinnati.Â
> Nick Jourdain (5.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.3 bpg.), who scored a season high 12 points against Cincinnati, has been on fire from the field of late, shooting 25-41 (61.0%) from the field over the last 10 games.
> Kur Jongkuch (1.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg) has started three games in place of injured big man Jamille Reynolds (11.1 ppg/6.3 rpg).
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SCOUTING SOUTH FLORIDA
> Tyler Harris averages 15.6 points (8th AAC) and has made a team-best 37 threes to lead a balanced South Florida offense. He ranks second in the AAC behind Battle at 2.64 threes per game.
> Selton Miguel, who leads USF in assists (47), is the only other Bull averaging double figures.
> Four players averaged above seven points again led by Russel Tchewa (9.9 ppg), who also tops the team in rebounding (7.4 rpg./5th AAC) and ranks fourth in the conference in field goal percentage (.609).
> The Bulls have a deep team with nine players averaging double figure minutes and only one, Harris, above 30 minutes per game (31.3).
Â
SERIES HISTORY
> Temple and South Florida have met 20 times, with the Owls leading 14-6 in the series.
> South Florida has won three of the last five meetings, including a 52-49 victory in
Tampa last season. That was the Bulls first home win over the Owls in eight meetings.
> The Owls had won 11 in a row prior to falling at home during the 2019-20 season.
> The teams split the two meetings last season, each winning in its own court.
> The first meeting in the series was 11 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, 82-75, but did not win again until the 2019-20 campaign.
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Players Mentioned
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