Men's Basketball Plays First Big 5 Game of the Season at Drexel on Tuesday

Tuesday, November 14

Philadelphia, Pa.

7:00 P.M.

Temple University

Drexel

Photo by: Kenny Dango

Men's Basketball Plays First Big 5 Game of the Season at Drexel on Tuesday

11.13.23 | Men's Basketball

NBC Sports Philadelphia+Listen Live Live Stats Game Notes vs. Drexel

Opening Tip
The Temple University men's basketball team plays its first Big 5 game of the season, traveling to West Philadelphia to take on the Drexel Dragons on Tuesday, November 14. Tipoff from the Daskalakis Athletic Center is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

Last Time Out
Jahlil White had his second consecutive double-double to open the season as the Temple men's basketball team won its second in a row to start the year, a 75-68 win against Navy

BY THE NUMBERS

White tallied a career-high 21 in the game and had a team best 10 boards.
Hysier Miller scored 15. He also had five rebounds and a career-high five steals.
Matteo Picarelli connected on four three-pointers in the game, scoring 17.
The Owls hit 10 threes in the game, their most since February 22 against Cincinnati.

Doubling His Fun
Jahlil White has gotten off to a remarkable start this season averaging 18.0 points and 12.0 rebounds per game. He followed up the opener against UMES with a career-best 21 points and 10 rebounds at Navy. He is the first Temple player with consecutive double-doubles since Nate Pierre-Louis went back-to-back against Villanova and UConn in February, 2020. White is also one of just 12 players nationally with two double-doubles through the first week of play.

Two-For-Two
With the win against the Midshipmen, Temple is now 2-0 for the first time since 2019 when the Owls opened with wins against Drexel and Morgan State, on their way to a 4-0 start.

Props
Jahlil White's big week earned him some recognition. The junior was named the Big 5 Player of the Week and was selected to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll.

Glass Cleaners
Though it's a small sample size through just two games, Temple has done a much better job of rebounding the ball than last year. The Owls are averaging 42.0 rebounds per game and have won the battle on the boards in both of their games this season. Last year, TU pulled in 35.2 rebounds a contest.

I'll Take That, Thanks!
A steal for Hysier Miller isn't exactly news, especially after he came away with 39 in 32 games last season, but Friday night at Navy was impressive, even for him. The homegrown junior took the ball off a Midshipmen player five times, a career-high and the most for a Temple player since Quinton Rose also had five against Wichita State on February 27, 2020.

Picarelli Firing Long Distance
One of the reasons Temple brought in Matteo Picarelli as a transfer was to shoot the three and so far he has done just that. He has taken 18 shots overall, 16 of them from beyond the arc. Throughout his career, 78.4 percent of Picarelli's field goal attempts have come from three-point range.

Valuing The Ball
After turning it over just 12 times against a UMES team that led NCAA Division I in turnovers forced a season ago, Temple protected the rock even better on Friday. The Owls coughed it up just eight times against Navy. They only had five games with single-digit turnovers last year and averaged 13.6 an outing, which ranked in the bottom 20 percent nationally.

Check Your TV Listings
Friday's game in the Veterans Classic at Navy aired on CBS Sports Network and was the first of 11 games scheduled to be broadcast on national linear TV outlets. The remaining games are slated to be on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.

Scouting Report
Drexel is 1-1 and is coming off a 74-72 win at Winthrop on Saturday. The Dragons went 17-15 last season and were picked to finish third in the Coastal Athletic Association preseason poll.

Leading the way for Drexel is CAA Preseason Player of the Year Amari Williams. He averaged 13.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game last season and has picked up right where he left off, posting 17.0 and 9.0 this year. Williams is the two-time defending CAA Defensive Player of the Year and has 124 blocks since the beginning of 2021-22. Also back is Justin Moore, an All-Rookie team pick a season ago who is tallying 12.0 a night with 4.5 assists per game.

While having Williams as a rim protector helps, the Dragons were good defensively overall last year, ranking 16th nationally, allowing 62.4 points per game. Part of that was not allowing opponents to get to the line as they were 25th in NCAA Division I in fewest fouls at 14.5 a contest.

Defense needed to be important as Drexel was in the bottom 50 nationally in scoring offense. While some individuals connected well from distance, as a team, the Dragons struggled, ranking 305th out of 352 teams in D1 for three-point percentage at 31.6.
Zach Spiker is in his eighth season as the head coach of Drexel with a record of 94-119 in West Philadelphia. After a rough start, he has guided a turnaround, with three consecutive winning seasons and a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2021.

All-Time Series
Tuesday is the 43rd all-time matchup between Temple and Drexel in a series that dates back to the 1901-02 season. The Owls hold a 32-10 advantage and have won five in a row in the series.

Last Time Against Drexel
Hysier Miller had 20 points and seven assists as the Owls topped the Dragons 73-61 on November 27, 2022. As a team, Temple shot 56.3 percent from the floor.

Haven't Been There In A While
Tuesday's game marks Temple's first trip to the Daskalakis Athletic Center since November 26, 1985. The previous 10 contests have all been played at Temple or at the Palestra.

Big 5 Is Back!
2023-24 sees a reimagined and reinvigorated Big 5. All of the Philadelphia Division I institutions will be a part with each school playing in a three-team pod before all six teams compete on December 2 in the Big 5 Classic at the Wells Fargo Center. Opponents and times for the Big 5 Classic will be determined following the games on November 29 and are based on seeding in the pods. Temple plays Big 5 games at Drexel on November 14 and hosts La Salle on November 29.

Up Next
Temple returns to the Liacouras Center for the first time in two weeks, hosting the Columbia Lions in non-conference action on Saturday, November 18. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.