Temple @ Memphis preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 26, 2019 ) Temple 73, Memphis 81

If Memphis is going to work its way back into the NCAA Tournament, the team is going to have to earn victories like Wednesday's home bout with Temple. The Tigers are seeking their third straight win, while the Owls are eyeing back-to-back wins after dropping seven of their previous eight.

Both Memphis and Temple are middle-of-the-pack teams in the American Athletic Conference, but there is still plenty of time left to make up ground in the league. The Tigers topped Connecticut 70-63 in their last contest thanks in part to Lester Quinones' go-ahead 3-pointer with under three minutes remaining. Temple edged East Carolina 76-64 last time out as Quinton Rose scored 20 points and J.P. Moorman chipped in 14 points and 10 boards. The teams split a pair of meetings last season with Rose scoring 26 points in the Owls' win before getting held to six points in the losing rematch.

TIME: 8 p.m. TV: CBS Sports Network

ABOUT TEMPLE (11-10, 3-6 AAC): Despite shooting 38 percent from the field and 29 percent from 3-point range, Rose is the team's leading scorer at 15.6 points and also leads the team in assists (3.6). Rose attempted a season-high 12 foul shots against ECU (making 10) and reached the 20-point mark for the third time in the last four outings. Nate Pierre-Louis contributed 14 points against ECU but only had two rebounds - a low total for the 6-4 guard who leads the team with eight boards per game.

ABOUT MEMPHIS (16-5, 5-3): Precious Achiuwa had 16 points while Quinones and Lance Thomas notched 14 apiece in the win over UConn with Achiuwa and Quinones each grabbing eight rebounds and Thomas adding five blocks. Among active players for Memphis, Achiuwa leads the team with 15.2 points and 10.1 rebounds while shooting nearly 53 percent from the field and even a crisp 40 percent on 20 3-point attempts. Thomas is one of the players who needs to step up in the absence of D.J. Jeffries (10.8 points), who could miss the rest of the regular season - and possibly longer - with a knee injury.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. In his last six games, Temple G Alani Moore II is 12-of-23 from 3-point range.

2. Following a stretch of six straight double-doubles, Achiuwa only has one in the last four games.

3. Achiuwa has multiple turnovers in eight straight games, including eight turnovers versus UConn.

PREDICTION: Memphis 64, Temple 60