Temple @ Cincinnati preview
Fifth Third Arena
Last Meeting ( Feb 4, 2021 ) Cincinnati 63, Temple 60
The Cincinnati Bearcats are set to play their first home game in 41 days on Friday night, when they are scheduled to host the Temple Owls in an American Athletic Conference contest.
On Feb. 4, Cincinnati (5-7, 3-4 AAC) returned from a 25-day layoff due to COVID-19 protocols, beating Temple 63-60 in Philadelphia.
Guard David DeJulius scored a career-high 26 points and also had four rebounds, three assists and three steals against the Owls. He made 10-of-18 shots from the floor, including 4-for-11 on three-pointers.
DeJulius, who endured COVID-19 over the summer, addressed the media following the Temple game.
"We've been through a lot these past three weeks," said DeJulius, a Michigan Wolverines transfer. "COVID really took a toll on our team.
"I was able to stay in the gym. I fine-tuned some things with Coach (John) Brannen, and we executed at a high level."
DeJulius is second on the Bearcats in scoring this season (10.3 points) but is shooting just 22.8 percent on three-pointers. Yet, he said Brannen has supported his game all season, urging him to shoot more.
"(Due to the COVID-19 cancellations), I had time to evaluate what was going wrong with my shot," said DeJulius, who leads Cincinnati with 5.0 assists per game. "I decided to be more aggressive.
"Coach Brannen has stayed in confident me. It was kind of weird because normally you wouldn't get that from a coach. But we had meetings, and he said: ‘Take this shot, take that shot.'
"When you have a coach who believes in you like that, all you have to do is keep working."
Keith Williams leads the Bearcats in scoring (15.4) and steals (1.3). Tari Eason tops Cincinnati in rebounds (5.8) and blocks (1.2).
Meanwhile, Temple (4-7, 3-7) is led in scoring by redshirt freshman Damian Dunn (15.0), in rebounds by veteran Jake Forrester (6.4) and in assists by true freshman Jeremiah Williams (4.4).
Dunn was named the AAC Freshman of the Week on Monday, his third such honor this season.
A North Carolina native who played just one game last season due to a broken foot, Dunn averaged 19.0 points and 5.5 rebounds for the week.
Dunn said he is fully recovered from his injury.
"It was frustrating at the time I got hurt," he said, "but that's way in the past."
As for Williams, he is the first true freshman to start a Temple season opener since Alani Moore II in 2016-17.
"I've been pretty impressed with both of these guys," Owls coach Aaron McKie said of Dunn and Williams. "We've thrown a lot at (him, especially) Williams."
--Field Level Media