Owls Begin American Conference Championships with First Round Matchup Against FAU Wednesday Night

Wednesday, March 11

Birmingham, Ala. | Legacy Arena at the BJCC

9:00 PM

Temple University

Florida Atlantic

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Photo by: Robin Hsiao

Owls Begin American Conference Championships with First Round Matchup Against FAU Wednesday Night

3.10.26 | Men's Basketball

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Game Info
vs. No. 7 seed FAU | Wed., March 11 | 9 p.m. ET | Birmingham, Ala. | Legacy Arena at the BJCC

Twitter/X: @TUMBBHoops | Instagram: @tumbbhoops

Opening Tip

The Temple University men's basketball team opens the postseason on Wednesday evening, taking on No. 7 seed Florida Atlantic in the first round of the American Conference Championships at 9 p.m. ET inside Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala.
The Owls completed the regular season with a 16-15 overall record and an 8-10 American Conference mark, tied for eighth in the conference standings. Memphis and Tulane each held tiebreakers against Temple, with the Owls earning the No. 10 seed.
In the new ladder-style bracket, Temple knows its next four potential opponents if it can win four games in four days. If Temple defeats FAU, the Owls would face No. 6 North Texas, No. 3 Tulsa and No. 2 Wichita State to reach the championship game.
Temple seeks four wins in four days to reach the conference finals, something the Owls accomplished during head coach Adam Fisher's inaugural season in 2023-24. As the No. 11 seed in the 2024 American Conference Championships, Temple defeated No. 14 seed UTSA (64-61), No. 6 seed SMU (75-60), No. 3 Charlotte (58-54) and No. 2 FAU (74-73) in consecutive days before falling to No. 4 seed UAB in the championship game.
Temple holds top-five American Conference marks in assist-to-turnover ratio (4th, 1.40), field goal percentage (4th, 44.9), free throw percentage (3rd, 74.8), free throws made per game (4th, 17.3), scoring defense (3rd, 71.0), three-point percentage (5th, 34.0), three-point percentage defense (5th, 32.0), turnover margin (4th, +1.1) and turnovers per game (1st, 9.0).
Temple ranks first in the American Conference and fifth nationally in turnovers per game (9.0), third in the conference and 92nd nationally in free throw percentage (74.8), fourth in the conference and 57th nationally in free throws made per game (17.3), third in the conference and 100th nationally in scoring defense (71.0), fifth in the conference and 82nd nationally in three-point percentage defense (32.0) and fourth in the conference and 83rd nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.40).
Derrian Ford was named to the American Conference Third Team and the All-Newcomer Team on Tuesday morning.
Both Derrian Ford and Aiden Tobiason are averaging 21.0 points against Florida Atlantic this season, with Ford shooting 41.4 percent and Tobiason shooting 52.0 percent from the field. Gavin Griffiths is also averaging double figures against the Boca Raton Owls with 17.0 points per game.

Scouting Florida Atlantic

Florida Atlantic enters the postseason with a balanced offensive attack, averaging 79.5 points per game, which ranks third in the American Conference and inside the national top 100. The Owls shoot 46.0 percent from the field and generate 13.0 fastbreak points per game.
Defensively, FAU is anchored by one of the nation's top rim protectors in Devin Williams, who ranks second nationally with 2.71 blocks per game and leads the American Conference with 84 total blocks. As a team, the Owls rank 10th nationally in blocks per game (5.5).
The Owls feature a balanced scoring lineup with Devin Vanterpool (15.8 ppg) and Kanaan Carlyle (14.7 ppg) leading the offense, while Isaiah Elohim (12.2 ppg) and Josiah Parker (9.6 ppg) also provide scoring depth. Parker also contributes on the glass with six double-doubles this season.
Florida Atlantic is strong on the boards, ranking 39th nationally in rebounds per game (38.8) and posting a +4.0 rebound margin.
FAU is 2-0 against Temple this season, earning a pair of tight wins with a 79-73 victory at the Liacouras Center on Jan. 18 and a 77-73 win in Boca Raton on Feb. 26. Temple outscored FAU by a combined 10 points (78-68) in first halves this season, but FAU owns an 88-68 edge in second halves in the two matchups.
The Broad Street Owls will look to limit American Conference Freshman of the Year Josiah Parker, who averaged 15.5 points and 11.5 rebounds while shooting 63.6 percent against Temple this season.

Series History