Men's Basketball Set to Host No. 18 Memphis at Liacouras Center on Thursday

Game Info: Thursday, January 16 - 7:00 p.m.
Location: Liacouras Center - Philadelphia, Pa.
TV: ESPN2 | Listen: OwlSports.com/listen | Live Stats: Stat Broadcast | Temple Game Notes

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Opening Tip

The Temple men's basketball team returns to Liacouras Center for a two-game homestand beginning on Thursday evening with an American Athletic Conference matchup against No. 18 Memphis.
Fans are encouraged to wear white, with free t-shirts to fans located in the lower bowl courtesy of Liberty Coke.
The Owls have won three of their last four games, including a hard-fought 73-70 victory over Rice on Saturday afternoon.
Temple's defensive effort in the first half held Rice to 33.3% shooting, allowing the Owls to establish a 35-31 halftime lead.
The game remained tightly contested down the stretch, with freshman Babatunde Durodola converting a putback layup to give Temple a 62-61 lead
Temple relied on clutch free-throw shooting in the final 1:12, converting 11 of 14 attempts to fend off Rice's late comeback bid.
Jamal Mashburn Jr. led the Owls with 24 points while adding four rebounds. He earned weekly AAC Honorable Mention honors for a second straight week.
Shane Dezonie scored 10 points while setting a career high with 15 rebounds in just 23 minutes off the bench.
Rice shot 40% from the field, slightly edging out Temple's 39%, and led with 42 points in the paint.
The Owls look to remain unbeaten at home, aiming to match their best start on their home court since the 2018-19 season, when they won their first seven games.
Temple dropped its lone matchup against Memphis at home last season, 84-77.

Inside The Numbers

5 Consecutive games with double-digit points for Shane Dezonie. Against Rice, Dezonie recorded a career-high 15 rebounds along with 10 points.
19.2 Made free throws per game ranks the Owls eighth in the country. Temple also ranks eighth in free throws attempted with an average of 26.4. Jamal Mashburn Jr. leads the Owls with 4.6 made free throws and 6.0 free throw attempts per game.
20.7 Points per game ranks Jamal Mashburn Jr. tenth in the country in points per game. The last Owl to finish a season top-ten in scoring was David Hawkins whose 24.4 ppg ranked him third in the nation.
72 All-time wins against nationally-ranked opponents. The Owls have won two of their last four games against teams featured in the AP Poll, including a victory over No. 1 Houston in the 2022-23 season.

Scouting Memphis

The 18th-ranked Memphis Tigers enter Thursday night holding a conference-leading 13-3 record and a perfect 3-0 mark in AAC play.
Memphis is the tenth-best team from distance, shooting 40% from beyond the arc.
Sophomore guard PJ Haggerty leads the Tigers in scoring with a conference-best 22.4 points per game.
The Tigers have earned victories over three nationally-ranked teams this season - UConn, Clemson, and Ole Miss.