East Carolina @ Temple preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 16, 2019 ) Temple 85, East Carolina 74

A meeting with East Carolina could be just what Temple needs right now -- or maybe it's the other way around. The Owls and Pirates both are hungry for a win Saturday when the teams match up on Temple's home court.

The Owls have lost four in a row and seven of their last eight, most recently a 15-point loss at Connecticut. "This has been a struggle for us all year," coach Aaron McKie said of the team's offensive struggles. "You would hope that at some point we could find a way or find a game where we can make some shots. And it just hasn't happened for us." The Pirates have dropped four of their last five, including a 10-point loss to Houston in their last contest. "We're a better team (than we've shown), we compete, we play hard," star forward Jayden Gardner said, adding: "We've just got to keep getting older and keep getting mature and keep going through these games."

TIME: 6 p.m. ET. TV: CBS Sports Network

ABOUT EAST CAROLINA (9-12, 3-5 AAC): Gardner, the leading scorer in the American Athletic Conference, scored 29 points and pulled down 19 rebounds versus Houston to raise his season averages to 21.3 points and 9.7 boards. "We played against a lot of teams, but Gardner's the best player we've played against," Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said of the 6-7 sophomore. "We've played against nobody that is more difficult because you don't know who to put on him." Brandon Suggs chips in 9.4 points for ECU but has totaled five points in 28 minutes over the previous two games.

ABOUT TEMPLE (10-10, 2-6): The Owls once again watched their best player, Quinton Rose, struggle from the field as the senior shot 6-of-18 against UConn and is now shooting 37.8 percent on the season. Rose averages 15.4 points and a team-high 3.6 assists, while Nate Pierre-Louis chips in 11.5 points and 8.3 boards, but he also shoots below 40 percent from the floor. Jake Forrester, one of the team's only efficient shooters at 56.6 percent, has scored double-digit points in four of his last five outings.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Despite 27 points from Gardner, the Pirates lost last season's matchup with Temple by 11.

2. In the last four games, ECU G Tremont Robinson-White has shot just 4-of-18 from the field.

3. Gardner has scored in double figures in every game this season and has 10 double-doubles.

PREDICTION: Temple 59, East Carolina 54