Temple University Athletics
Wednesday, January 11
Storrs, Conn.
9:00 p.m.
Temple University
at
UConn
Photo by: Ben Solomon/American Athletic Conference
Men's Basketball Heads to UConn's Gampel Pavilion for Wednesday Night Contest
1.10.17 | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA - Temple men's basketball will play for the first time ever at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs when the Owls (10-7, 1-3) travel to UConn (6-9 ,1-3) for a 9 p.m. game on Wednesday, Jan. 11 (CBSSN / 1210 AM WPHT). The all-time series is tied 7-7, but every modern era road game Temple has played against the Huskies was in Hartford.
Gampel, UConn's main campus arena, was built in 1990, long after the first seven games of the series between the Huskies and the Owls. Temple was 2-5 against UConn from 1951 to 1965, and did not face the Huskies again until the teams became American Athletic Conference opponents in 2014. Since then, Temple has won four of seven meetings and has swept the regular season series in each of the past two years.
UConn ended a four-game losing streak to Temple in the 2016 American Athletic Conference Tournament, winning 77-62 in the semifinals. During the regular season in 2015-16, Temple won 55-53 at UConn (in Hartford) and 63-58 at home.
Temple is coming off its first league win, shooting 65.4 percent in the second half and beating East Carolina 81-62 on Jan. 7. Five players scored in double figures, led by senior Daniel Dingle with 19 points. Quinton Rose was named The American's Rookie of the Week on Jan. 9 for a third time this season after back-to-back 14-point scoring efforts for the Owls against SMU and East Carolina. For the week, he shot 66.7 percent (12-of-18).
The Owls had previously lost three straight to begin conference play including a 79-65 defeat at SMU on Jan. 4. Temple struggled in the first half of their last two losses at UCF and SMU, and was unable to make a comeback despite a strong second half in both.
Junior Obi Enechionyia leads Temple and ranks 10th in The American with 14.6 ppg. He scored in double figures in the first 10 games of the season and has done so in 13 games overall, with five games of 20 points or more. Over the last eight games, sophomore guard Shizz Alston, Jr. has scored in double figures seven times. He ranks second in The American in both assist/turnover ratio (3.5, 15th in NCAA Division I) and steals per game (1.8) while ranking fifth in assists (4.3) and 16th in scoring (12.6).Â
UConn went 0-3 to start conference play for the first time since 1984-85, and has an uncharacteristic overall record of 6-9. The Huskies are also coming off their first American win, 64-49 against UCF after losing to Houston, Tulsa and Memphis.
The Huskies went 25-11 in 2015-16, but returned just one consistent starter from that squad in senior Rodney Purvis. UConn lost three players to season-ending injuries very early in the season, including two, redshirt sophomore Terry Larrier and freshman Alterique Gilbert, who averaged double figures in scoring in their four and three games played, respectively. Leading UConn is sophomore Jalen Adams with 15.5 points per game and a conference-best 5.8 assists per game.
Temple will see a familiar face on the opposing bench at UConn. Dwayne Killings was an assistant coach under Fran Dunphy from 2011-16, helping lead the Owls to four postseason appearances in his five years on the bench. From 2006-09, Killings had served as Dunphy's assistant director of basketball operations. Killings left Temple in July to become an assistant coach on Kevin Ollie's UConn staff.
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Gampel, UConn's main campus arena, was built in 1990, long after the first seven games of the series between the Huskies and the Owls. Temple was 2-5 against UConn from 1951 to 1965, and did not face the Huskies again until the teams became American Athletic Conference opponents in 2014. Since then, Temple has won four of seven meetings and has swept the regular season series in each of the past two years.
UConn ended a four-game losing streak to Temple in the 2016 American Athletic Conference Tournament, winning 77-62 in the semifinals. During the regular season in 2015-16, Temple won 55-53 at UConn (in Hartford) and 63-58 at home.
Temple is coming off its first league win, shooting 65.4 percent in the second half and beating East Carolina 81-62 on Jan. 7. Five players scored in double figures, led by senior Daniel Dingle with 19 points. Quinton Rose was named The American's Rookie of the Week on Jan. 9 for a third time this season after back-to-back 14-point scoring efforts for the Owls against SMU and East Carolina. For the week, he shot 66.7 percent (12-of-18).
The Owls had previously lost three straight to begin conference play including a 79-65 defeat at SMU on Jan. 4. Temple struggled in the first half of their last two losses at UCF and SMU, and was unable to make a comeback despite a strong second half in both.
Junior Obi Enechionyia leads Temple and ranks 10th in The American with 14.6 ppg. He scored in double figures in the first 10 games of the season and has done so in 13 games overall, with five games of 20 points or more. Over the last eight games, sophomore guard Shizz Alston, Jr. has scored in double figures seven times. He ranks second in The American in both assist/turnover ratio (3.5, 15th in NCAA Division I) and steals per game (1.8) while ranking fifth in assists (4.3) and 16th in scoring (12.6).Â
UConn went 0-3 to start conference play for the first time since 1984-85, and has an uncharacteristic overall record of 6-9. The Huskies are also coming off their first American win, 64-49 against UCF after losing to Houston, Tulsa and Memphis.
The Huskies went 25-11 in 2015-16, but returned just one consistent starter from that squad in senior Rodney Purvis. UConn lost three players to season-ending injuries very early in the season, including two, redshirt sophomore Terry Larrier and freshman Alterique Gilbert, who averaged double figures in scoring in their four and three games played, respectively. Leading UConn is sophomore Jalen Adams with 15.5 points per game and a conference-best 5.8 assists per game.
Temple will see a familiar face on the opposing bench at UConn. Dwayne Killings was an assistant coach under Fran Dunphy from 2011-16, helping lead the Owls to four postseason appearances in his five years on the bench. From 2006-09, Killings had served as Dunphy's assistant director of basketball operations. Killings left Temple in July to become an assistant coach on Kevin Ollie's UConn staff.
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Players Mentioned
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