Temple Hosts In-State Foe Saint Francis for First Time Since 1970 Sunday

Sunday, December 14

Philadelphia, Pa.

Noon

Temple University

Saint Francis

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Photo by: Robin Hsiao

Temple Hosts In-State Foe Saint Francis for First Time Since 1970 Sunday

12.13.25 | Men's Basketball

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Game Info

Sunday, Dec. 14 – Noon
Location: Liacouras Center – Philadelphia, Pa.

Promotion: Ugly Sweater Contest

Social Media
Twitter/X: @TUMBBHoops | Instagram: @tumbbhoops

Opening Tip

The Temple University men's basketball team looks to build off of a dominant victory, taking on Keystone State foe Saint Francis for the first time since Dec. 26, 1970 on Sunday at noon inside the Liacouras Center.

Temple leads the all-time series against SFU, 5-1. The Owls have been victorious in each of the past four meetings, with Saint Francis earning an 85-69 win over the Owls during the 1955 season.

The Owls have taken care of the ball among the best teams in the nation this season, ranking fifth among 361 Division I programs with an average of 8.9 turnovers per game. Temple also ranks second in The American and 60th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.52).

Temple ranked third nationally in free throws made per game (19.5) and fourth in free-throw attempts (26.5) during the 2024–25 season and has continued that strong production this year. Temple currently ranks second and fourth in The American in free-throw attempts and makes, respectively. The Owls' 19.1 free throws made per game rank 38th nationally, while their 26.4 attempts per game rank 32nd.

Last Time Out

The Owls snapped a three-game skid with a 103-57 triumph over Georgian Court on Tuesday. Six Owls reached double-figures in scoring, with Jordan Mason coming up just two rebounds short of a triple-double against the Lions, recording 10 points, eight rebounds, and 11 assists. Temple posted 60 points in the second half after shooting 20-of-29 FG, the program's first 60-point half since registering 63 against LIU Brooklyn on Dec. 21, 2013.

Jordan Mason recorded his first career double-double with a career-high 11 assists, surpassing his previous best of nine, set during the 2024-25 season at UIC. He is the first Owl with 11 or more assists since Shizz Alston Jr. tallied 11 against Davidson on Dec. 15, 2018. Mason also matched his career high with eight rebounds, finishing just two points shy of Temple's first triple-double since Pepe Sanchez posted 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against La Salle in 1998.

Temple's 46-point margin of victory marked its first 40-point win since a 108-61 triumph over Saint Joseph's during the 2019-20 season.

As a team, the Owls recorded 25 assists, the most in program history since a 26-assist performance against Toledo during the 2010-11 season.

Scouting Saint Francis

The Red Flash, the 2025 NEC Champion and NCAA Tournament Team, enters Sunday's contest with a 2-8 record, with wins over Franciscan and Penn State Shenango.

Skylar Wicks is the Red Flash' biggest threat to score and off the glass, ranking second in the NEC in scoring (18.4) and rebounding (8.0). Joining Wicks with double-digit averages in points are Paris Papadatos (12.0) and Zion Russell (11.0)

SFU is under the direction of first-year head coach Luke McConnell. The McConnell family is well known in basketball circles in Western Pennsylvania. He became the fourth McConnell to serve as a head coach at the Division I level. Along with his father, Tom, two of his aunts served as Division I head coaches in women's basketball: Kathy McConnell-Miller (University of Tulsa, 1999-05); Susie McConnell-Serio (Duquesne, 2007-13, University of Pittsburgh, 2013-18). Kathy remains a head coach in the NCAA as the women's basketball head coach at Division III's Carnegie Mellon.