Men's Basketball Travels to Navy for Veterans Classic

Friday, November 10

Annapolis, Md.

8:30 P.M.

Temple University

Navy

Photo by: Paige Wisehaupt

Men's Basketball Travels to Navy for Veterans Classic

11.8.23 | Men's Basketball

CBS Sports Network Listen Live Live Stats Navy Game Notes

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Temple University men's basketball team plays its first road game of the season, traveling to Annapolis, Md. to face Navy in the second game of the Veterans Classic. Tipoff from Alumni Hall is scheduled for 8:37 p.m.

Last Time Out
The Adam Fisher era got off to a strong start as the Owls downed the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks 85-65 in the season opener on Monday night.

BY THE NUMBERS

Jahlil White posted a double-double, the sixth of his career, with 15 points and 14 rebounds.
Hysier Miller paced all scorers with 17 points. He also led the team with five assists.
In his collegiate debut, Zion Stanford added 14 points.
Shane Dezonie was the fourth Owl to hit the double digit mark, posting a career-high 12.
As a team, Temple shot 90.0 percent (27-for-30) from the free throw line.
TU held a 46-37 advantage on the boards. The Owls also turned up the defense, holding UMES to 34.8 percent shooting for the game.

Getting Off On The Right Foot (Part I)
The Owls are now 101-27 in season openers, a .789 winning percentage. They have also gone 20-7 in the opening contest of the year at the Liacouras Center.

Getting Off On The Right Foot (Part II)
With the win against UMES, Adam Fisher became the 12th coach in Temple men's basketball history to win his inaugural game leading the program. He is the sixth coach out of the last seven dating to 1942 to win his first game at TU.

"He Wanted To Be Here"
Those were the words from Coach Fisher about Zion Stanford in the postgame press conference. Temple is certainly glad that he did want to be with the Owls through the coaching change. Told to be ready to play early, Stanford delivered with 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting, adding a pair of rebounds and two steals.. He is the first Owl to score in double figures in his Temple debut since Jeremiah Williams on December 19, 2020 and it is the most points in an inaugural game with TU since Shizz Alston, Jr. also tallied 14 against La Salle on November 16, 2016.

No Second Chances
Jahlil White made sure UMES didn't have an opportunity to ger a second look at the hoop as he pulled down 14 total rebounds, 13 of them on the defensive end. The defensive rebounding total was the highest in The American on the opening day of the season and the second most nationally, trailing only N'Faly Dante of Oregon who pulled in 15 defensive boards against Georgia.

Supporting Cast
Led by Zion Stanford and Shane Dezonie, the Temple bench scored 30 points against the Hawks. Overall, the Owls' non-starters shot 11-for-16 from the floor, adding eight rebounds and three steals.

Valuing The Ball
TU protected the rock on Monday, turning the ball over just 12 times against a UMES team that forced the most turnovers in Division I a season ago. The starting ineup was particularly effective, coughing the ball up just six times.

Scouting Report
Navy is 0-1, coming off a 58-49 loss against Campbell on Monday. The Midshipmen went 18-13 last season and were picked in a tie for seventh in the Patriot League in the preseason poll.

There is a lot replace for Navy as three starters and two other players who appeared in each contest for the team are gone from last year's squad. Austin Inge, who started 23 games and averaged 6.0 points a contest is the leading returning scorer for the Midshipmen. Inge and Austin Begnini combined for 139 assists a season ago.

One things Navy did very well last season was shoot from distance, connecting on 37.1 percent of its shots from three-point range. It also held on to the ball well, ranking 53rd nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Shooting well from deep was a necessity for the Midshipmen as they did not get a lot of their points from the free throw line. The team placed in the bottom 10 in NCAA Division I in both free throw attempts and makes.

Veteran Ed DeChellis is in his 13th season with Navy and his 28th season as a collegiate head coach overall. He has a 168-194 record in Annapolis and has produced back-to-back winning seasons, including a 21-11 record and a trip to the Patriot League finals in 2021-22. Prior to Navy, he coached for eight seasons at Penn State including a 28-11 mark and an NIT championship in 2009. He began his career with seven years at East Tennessee State University.

All-Time Series
Friday is the 37th all-time meeting between Temple and Navy with the Owls holding a 22-14 series advantage.

Been A While
Despite the 36 previous matchups and being conference rivals in football, Temple and Navy have not met in men's basketball since January 9, 1982.

Out Of Conference Experience
Fisher's first season on North Broad Street will have its share of challenges as Temple plays three games against opponents who were selected in the top-four in their respective leagues. The slate also includes the updated Big 5 that will feature games against La Salle and Drexel in November as well as a date against either Villanova, Saint Joseph's or Penn in the Big 5 Classic on December 2.

Mele Kalikimaka
Part of the non-conference schedule is a trip to Hawai'i for the holidays as the Owls play in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. TU plays three games in the tournament, starting with Nevada on December 21, followed by either TCU or Old Dominion on December 22. The event wraps up with either Georgia Tech, UMass, Portland or Hawai'i on December 24. All of the games will be on ESPN platforms.

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 plays its first Big 5 game of the season, heading to West Philadelphia to take on Drexel on November 14. Tipoff from the Daskalakis Athletic Center is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.