Temple University Athletics
Thursday, March 2
Philadelphia, Pa.
7:00 P.M.
Temple University
vs
UCF
Men's Basketball Celebrates Seniors Thursday in Key AAC Game with UCF
3.2.23 | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA - It will be Senior Night for the Temple Men's Basketball team Thursday night (7 pm/ESPNU/1210 AM WPHT) at the Liacouras Center and the stakes are high for the Owls when they host the UCF Knights in a key conference contest to determine seeding for the AAC Championship.
The Owls (15-14, 9-7 AAC) are one game ahead of Wichita State (15-13, 8-8) and in fifth place in the AAC standings. A Temple win likely solidifies a first round bye in the conference tournament which starts March 9 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. UCF (16-12, 7-9) is currently in seventh place in the standings but can move to as high as fifth with wins in its final two games.
The Owls will honor three members of the team, Damian Dunn, Kur Jongkuch and Ryan Sayers on Senior Night as well as three senior managers, Shea Avellino, Nick Mrakovich and Mike Wusinich, prior to the game.
PROMOTIONS
> Senior Night
> Irish Heritage Night
> $10,000 Series Shootout
> Military Appreciation Day
SCOUTING TEMPLE
> Khalif Battle, who has missed the last two games, leads the Owls and ranks fourth in the American Athletic Conference in scoring (17.9 ppg). He has scored 20 points in a team-best 13 games. He also leads the league in free throw percentage (.898, 11th nationally) and ranks second in threes per game (2.85, 38th nationally).
> Damian Dunn, who is coming off his second 30-point game (34 at Cinci) of the season, ranks second on the team in scoring (15.3 ppg) and assists (3.1). He also leads the Owls (t35th in NCAA) in free throws made (136) and three-point percentage (45-119, .378, 7th AAC).
> Jamille Reynolds, who missed 10 games due to a thumb injury, ranks third on the team in scoring (9.9 ppg) while leading the team in rebounding (5.5 rpg) and field goal percentage (.594).
> Zach Hicks (9.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg), who is second on the team in three-point shooting (71-196, .362), and Hysier Miller (8.9 ppg, 3.8 apg) are the only Owls to start all 29 games.
> Jahlil White (5.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg), who suffered an ankle injury at Cincinnati, is averaging 6.4 points and 5,7 rebounds while shooting 40-of-71 (.563) from the field in conference play. His status is a game-time decision for the UCF game.
> Nick Jourdain (6.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.1 bpg), who is shooting 50.8 percent from the field (66-130), has started the last 16 games.
> Kur Jongkuch (2.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg), who made the critical block in the final seconds of the team's win at #1 Houston, has started 17 games.
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SCOUTING UCF
> UCF snapped a three-game losing streak in its last game, a 68-48 win at Tulsa on Feb. 26.
> The Knights feature a balanced attack with four players averaging double figures led by Taylor Hendricks (15.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg). Hendricks also leads the AAC in blocks per game (1.7 bpg).
> Joining Hendricks in the scoring column are Ithiel Horton (12.6 ppg), C.J. Kelly (12.1 ppg) and Darius Johnson (10.4 ppg).
> Rounding out the team's starting five is Michael Durr (5.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg).
> The Knights are the top three-point shooting teams in the AAC, making 36.7 percent from behind the arc. They are also the second-best team in the conference in defending the three, holding opponents to 31.1 percent overall (39th NCAA).
SERIES HISTORY
> Temple and UCF are meeting for the 19th time in series history, with the Owls holding an 11-7 advantage.
> The Owls have won five of the last six meetings between the teams, including a thrilling 77-70 OT win in Orlando this year.
> Temple 6-2 against UCF at the Liacouras Center.
LAST MEETING:Â TEMPLE 77, @UCF 70 (OT) (Jan. 28, 2023)
> Khalif Battle scored nine of his game-high 26 points in overtime to lead Temple to a 77-70 win at UCF. The Owls won their fourth straight to improve to 14-9, 8-2 in AAC play.
> Temple also won its fifth straight road game to open conference play. It is the first time a Temple team won its first five league road games since the 1987-88 squad went a perfect 18-0 in Atlantic 10 play (9-0 on the road).
> It was a wonderful homecoming for Jamille Reynolds, who played two seasons for the Knights. In just his second game back after missing 10 games due to a thumb injury, he scored 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and grabbed five rebounds.
> The first half saw the lead bounce back and forth with each team posting double figure scoring runs before the Owls closed the half on an 8-2 run to head into the locker room with a 36-29 lead.
> UCF used a 10-2 run to retake the lead 45-44 on a Darius Johnson jumper.
> The game would remain within one possession as neither team could pull away until a Dunn jumper and two Battle free throws with 0:48 left gave the Owls a 62-58 lead.
> Two free throws by Johnson with 39.1 seconds left made it 62-60.
> Following a Temple turnover, Johnson was fouled with 2.4 seconds to play. He missed both but was able to get the rebound and was fouled with one second to play. He then made two to send the game into overtime.
> Johnson banked in a three from the right corner to give the Knights a quick 65-62 lead but the Owls would answer quickly.
> Reynolds made one of two free throws then slammed home a dunk to ignite a 10-0 run, giving Temple a 72-65 lead.
> The Knights would score five straight points to cut the margin to a basket, 72-70, with 20 seconds to play, but Battle would make four straight free throws and Jourdain added another to seal the win.
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The Owls (15-14, 9-7 AAC) are one game ahead of Wichita State (15-13, 8-8) and in fifth place in the AAC standings. A Temple win likely solidifies a first round bye in the conference tournament which starts March 9 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. UCF (16-12, 7-9) is currently in seventh place in the standings but can move to as high as fifth with wins in its final two games.
The Owls will honor three members of the team, Damian Dunn, Kur Jongkuch and Ryan Sayers on Senior Night as well as three senior managers, Shea Avellino, Nick Mrakovich and Mike Wusinich, prior to the game.
PROMOTIONS
> Senior Night
> Irish Heritage Night
> $10,000 Series Shootout
> Military Appreciation Day
SCOUTING TEMPLE
> Khalif Battle, who has missed the last two games, leads the Owls and ranks fourth in the American Athletic Conference in scoring (17.9 ppg). He has scored 20 points in a team-best 13 games. He also leads the league in free throw percentage (.898, 11th nationally) and ranks second in threes per game (2.85, 38th nationally).
> Damian Dunn, who is coming off his second 30-point game (34 at Cinci) of the season, ranks second on the team in scoring (15.3 ppg) and assists (3.1). He also leads the Owls (t35th in NCAA) in free throws made (136) and three-point percentage (45-119, .378, 7th AAC).
> Jamille Reynolds, who missed 10 games due to a thumb injury, ranks third on the team in scoring (9.9 ppg) while leading the team in rebounding (5.5 rpg) and field goal percentage (.594).
> Zach Hicks (9.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg), who is second on the team in three-point shooting (71-196, .362), and Hysier Miller (8.9 ppg, 3.8 apg) are the only Owls to start all 29 games.
> Jahlil White (5.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg), who suffered an ankle injury at Cincinnati, is averaging 6.4 points and 5,7 rebounds while shooting 40-of-71 (.563) from the field in conference play. His status is a game-time decision for the UCF game.
> Nick Jourdain (6.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.1 bpg), who is shooting 50.8 percent from the field (66-130), has started the last 16 games.
> Kur Jongkuch (2.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg), who made the critical block in the final seconds of the team's win at #1 Houston, has started 17 games.
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SCOUTING UCF
> UCF snapped a three-game losing streak in its last game, a 68-48 win at Tulsa on Feb. 26.
> The Knights feature a balanced attack with four players averaging double figures led by Taylor Hendricks (15.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg). Hendricks also leads the AAC in blocks per game (1.7 bpg).
> Joining Hendricks in the scoring column are Ithiel Horton (12.6 ppg), C.J. Kelly (12.1 ppg) and Darius Johnson (10.4 ppg).
> Rounding out the team's starting five is Michael Durr (5.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg).
> The Knights are the top three-point shooting teams in the AAC, making 36.7 percent from behind the arc. They are also the second-best team in the conference in defending the three, holding opponents to 31.1 percent overall (39th NCAA).
SERIES HISTORY
> Temple and UCF are meeting for the 19th time in series history, with the Owls holding an 11-7 advantage.
> The Owls have won five of the last six meetings between the teams, including a thrilling 77-70 OT win in Orlando this year.
> Temple 6-2 against UCF at the Liacouras Center.
LAST MEETING:Â TEMPLE 77, @UCF 70 (OT) (Jan. 28, 2023)
> Khalif Battle scored nine of his game-high 26 points in overtime to lead Temple to a 77-70 win at UCF. The Owls won their fourth straight to improve to 14-9, 8-2 in AAC play.
> Temple also won its fifth straight road game to open conference play. It is the first time a Temple team won its first five league road games since the 1987-88 squad went a perfect 18-0 in Atlantic 10 play (9-0 on the road).
> It was a wonderful homecoming for Jamille Reynolds, who played two seasons for the Knights. In just his second game back after missing 10 games due to a thumb injury, he scored 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and grabbed five rebounds.
> The first half saw the lead bounce back and forth with each team posting double figure scoring runs before the Owls closed the half on an 8-2 run to head into the locker room with a 36-29 lead.
> UCF used a 10-2 run to retake the lead 45-44 on a Darius Johnson jumper.
> The game would remain within one possession as neither team could pull away until a Dunn jumper and two Battle free throws with 0:48 left gave the Owls a 62-58 lead.
> Two free throws by Johnson with 39.1 seconds left made it 62-60.
> Following a Temple turnover, Johnson was fouled with 2.4 seconds to play. He missed both but was able to get the rebound and was fouled with one second to play. He then made two to send the game into overtime.
> Johnson banked in a three from the right corner to give the Knights a quick 65-62 lead but the Owls would answer quickly.
> Reynolds made one of two free throws then slammed home a dunk to ignite a 10-0 run, giving Temple a 72-65 lead.
> The Knights would score five straight points to cut the margin to a basket, 72-70, with 20 seconds to play, but Battle would make four straight free throws and Jourdain added another to seal the win.
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