Tulsa @ Temple preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 9, 2019 ) Temple 58, Tulsa 76

Temple has won four of its last five games and can avenge the only loss in that stretch Saturday when it hosts Tulsa in American Athletic Conference play. The Owls are one win away from hitting the 20-win plateau for the first time since 2015-16, which is also the last time they reached the NCAA Tournament.

In the first matchup with the Golden Hurricane, Temple shot barely over 30 percent from both the field and the 3-point line, and 16 turnovers didn’t help matters either as the team was crushed at Tulsa, 76-58. The Owls bounced back to top SMU by eight and then squeeze past South Florida 70-69 behind 24 points from Shizz Alston Jr., who made the decisive free throw in the waning seconds. Sterling Taplin (14 points) paced five players in double figures in the first matchup with Temple and, in fact, the Golden Hurricane turned that win into the beginning of a three-game winning streak. However, that run ended Wednesday as the team was smacked by Wichita State, 81-60.

TV: Noon ET, ESPNews

ABOUT TULSA (16-11, 6-8 American): The Golden Hurricane have only two double-digit scorers on the season in DaQuan Jeffries (13.7) and Martins Igbanu (12.1). Taplin isn’t far behind at 9.9 points but he struggled from the field against Wichita State, as did many of his teammates, shooting 2-of-12 in that one. Jeriah Horne (9.8 points) was 2-of-10 from the floor versus Wichita State and is 3-of-19 from the 3-point line over the last three outings.

ABOUT TEMPLE (19-7, 9-4): The Owls get nearly 50 points per game from Alston (18.7 points), Quinton Rose (16.2) and Nate Pierre-Louis (13.9), plus all three contribute at least 1.7 steals per game. Alston also is a terrific free-throw shooter (89.3), although he surprisingly missed four of his nine foul shots against USF after entering the game 103-of-112 on the season. Rose has finished below his scoring average in five straight games and only shot 2-of-12 from the floor in the first meeting with the Golden Hurricane.

TIP-INS

1. After making multiple 3-pointers in 16 of his previous 17 games, Alston was 1-of-7 from beyond the arc against USF.

2. Igbanu has shot at least 60 percent from the field in eight consecutive games.

3. Temple only has 57 blocks in 26 games and only one player - De’Vondre Perry (10) - has double-digit blocks on the season.

PREDICTION: Temple 70, Tulsa 66