Temple @ Tulane preview
Avron B. Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse
Last Meeting ( Mar 8, 2018 ) Tulane 77, Temple 82
Temple's two-game road trip runs the full spectrum of American Athletic Conference opponents. After facing first-place Houston on Thursday, the Owls' trek continues against last-place Tulane on Saturday.
Temple defeated Houston at home in the first matchup between the teams last month but dropped a 73-66 decision this week despite 26 points from Quinton Rose. Rose and the Owls' other two best players (Shizz Alston Jr. and Nate Pierre-Louis) combined to shoot 13-of-41 against Houston, although perhaps they can rediscover their form against a Tulane team that has dropped 10 straight games. The Green Wave nearly ended their skid Thursday before falling to East Carolina, 66-65. This is the first meeting of the season between Tulane and Temple, who also will meet in Philadelphia on March 3.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, ESPN3
ABOUT TEMPLE (15-6, 5-3 AAC): The Owls get two-thirds of their scoring from Alston, Rose and Pierre-Louis, plus the unit combines for nearly 10 assists per game and nearly six steals, as well. Alston's last four games have featured 27 percent shooting, and the senior guard failed to record an assist against Houston (in 35 minutes) for the first time all season. Rose is 10-of-20 from outside the arc in the last three games after entering that stretch just 15-of-77 from long range.
ABOUT TULANE (4-16, 0-8): The Green Wave are the only winless team in the AAC and, in fact, no other team in the league has fewer than two victories. Caleb Daniels registered a team-high 17 points against ECU but continued to struggle from 3-point range, dropping to 2-of-12 over the last three games. Samir Sehic (11.2 points, 7.8 rebounds) has seven double-doubles on the season but only one in the last five games.
TIP-INS
1. The Owls have won nine of the 12 all-time meetings.
2. Tulane G Kevin Zhang had 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting in the last game after shooting 7-of-27 over his previous three contests.
3. Temple only has 47 blocks in 21 games and nobody on the team has more than eight blocks.
PREDICTION: Temple 69, Tulane 66