Tulane @ Temple preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 3, 2019 ) Tulane 69, Temple 80

Facing a losing streak for the first time this season, Temple hopes to end its mini-skid Saturday when Tulane pays a visit to North Philadelphia. The Green Wave are facing their own issues as well, having dropped four of their last five contests.

Temple absorbed an ugly 70-44 defeat at Tulsa last week before venturing back home, only to suffer a 78-74 loss to Houston. Quinton Rose scored a season-high 21 points against the Cougars, but the team was outrebounded 54-32, including a 23-8 deficit on offensive rebounds. “I thought that was the difference in the game,” coach Aaron McKie said. “If you look at the numbers, it will say that we shot 42 percent (from the field), 46 percent from three, 76 (percent) from the line. But when you give up 19 second-chance points, it’s kinda hard.” Tulane also was pounded on the glass in its last game, when Connecticut outrebounded the Green Wave 46-29 en route to a six-point win.

TIME: Noon ET. TV: ESPNU

ABOUT TULANE (9-6, 1-2 American): Tulane has a few dynamic scorers with Teshaun Hightower (17.3 points) leading the way and Kansas transfer K.J. Lawson (14.1 points) not far behind. Hightower did not attempt a 3-pointer in the loss to UConn - his first time all season without attempting a 3 - after going 2-of-10 from the arc over the previous two games. Christion Thompson (12.9 points) was a bright spot in that one as he registered nine points, 10 boards, four assists and two steals.

ABOUT TEMPLE (9-5, 1-2): Temple is not a great rebounding team, as guard Nate Pierre-Louis is by far their best on the boards at 8.6 per game. Rose is the top scorer on the team at 14.6 points per game, followed by Pierre-Louis (10.8), who surpassed 15 points in each of the first three outings but has not done so in any of the 11 games since. J.P. Moorman II (5.8 points) had 10 points against Houston for his first double-digit scoring performance since late November.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Owls won last year's two meetings with Tulane by eight points and 11 points. In the second matchup, Rose had a career-high 29 points.

2. Temple committed only six turnovers in its last game, while Tulane committed just five its last time out.

3. Rose shot 5-of-10 against Houston -- the first time all season he has made more than 43 percent of his shots in a game.

PREDICTION: Temple 74, Tulane 64