Temple @ Texas A&M preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 28, 2010 ) Temple 51, Texas A&M 54

Temple gets its first chance to rebound from a loss when it meets Texas A&M on Friday in the consolation bracket of the Orlando Invitational. The Owls played well in their opening round game against No. 8 Maryland, but it wasn't enough to avoid their first defeat under new coach Aaron McKie, who will have to get his team ready for the Aggies on short notice.

That the Owls got a combined 12 points and 4-of-23 shooting from their top scorers Nate Pierre-Louis and Quinton Rose and were still in the game throughout is a testament to their depth. Senior Alani Moore II, who entered the tournament with one game in double figures on the season, did all he could to cover for his teammates by scoring 22 points - his most since registering a career-high 26 points as a freshman - and J.P. Moorman II, who had 17 points on the season prior to Thursday, scored 14 points for the Owls. "I definitely think this has given us an image of how we can play with anybody in the country," Moorman, a junior forward, told the media. "This was the fifth-best team in the country, we played them close." The Aggies came into the tournament short-handed because of injuries and the defection of TJ Starks, and it showed as they used eight players and three were largely ineffective.

TV: 2 p.m. ET, ESPNews

ABOUT TEMPLE (4-1): The Owls came in averaging 11.3 steals, which was the seventh best rate in the country, and had seven against the Terrapins - including two each from Moore and Rose, but couldn't come up with any down the stretch to help stem the tide. The defense, which had limited their first four opponents to 65 or fewer points, held the Terrapins to 29 points 35.7 percent shooting in the first half, but the second half was a different story. The Owls had no answer for Maryland's 47 second-half points, which came thanks to solid shooting in all three areas, including six 3-pointers and 13 made free throws.

ABOUT TEXAS A&M (3-2): With Starks set to enter the transfer portal, the Aggies need players to step up and score and against Harvard those players were Wendell Mitchell and Savion Flagg. Mitchell, a senior guard, enjoyed season highs with 17 points and five of his team's 11 steals while the junior guard Flagg broke a string of three straight games in single digits with 12 points. "I'm encouraged, not by the result but the process that led to the result," first-year coach Buzz Williams told the media. "I feel completely different in regard to how hard they're trying relative to what we are asking them to do. We're not there yet."

TIP-INS

1. Texas A&M F Josh Nebo entered Thursday 10th nationally with 3.3 blocks per game before recording three against Harvard.

2. The Owls and the Aggies have split two prior meetings with Texas A&M winning in 2010.

3. Jake Forrester, a transfer from Indiana, received permission earlier in the week from the NCAA to play and had six points and two rebounds off the bench in his first game for the Owls.

PREDICTION: Temple 75, Texas A&M 62