The Sports Network
DATE & TIME: Saturday, December 7th, 8:00 p.m. (et).
FACTS & STATS: Site: The Palestra (8,722) -- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Television: CN8. Home Record: Temple 0-1, Penn 1-1. Away Record: Temple 0-3, Penn 0-1. Neutral Record: Temple 0-0, Penn 0-0. Conference Record: Temple 0-0, Penn 0-0. Series Record: Temple leads, 33-20.
GAME NOTES: John Chaney's Temple Owls, off to their worst start in school history, will attempt to stop the bleeding at 0-4, when they take on cross- town rival Penn in Big Five action from the Palestra this evening. The Owls have stumbled out of the gate this year, losing at home to Rutgers (59-53), followed by three straight road setbacks at Wake Forest (83-76), South Carolina (66-47) and most recently at Charlotte (91-80). Fran Dunphy's Quakers have started off slow as well. A perennial powerhouse in the Ivy League, Penn beat up on Penn State in the season-opener (62-37), but has since dropped back-to-back games to Drexel (71-62) and at Delaware (60-59). This long standing series dates back to the 1896-97 season and has Temple leading 33-20 overall. The Owls won 17 straight in this series from 1982-83 to 1997-98. However, Penn has won two of the last four meetings, including last season's 68-62 affair at the Liacouras Center.
Despite draining a school-record 19 three-pointers against Charlotte, the Owls' current skein continued in an 11-point loss to the 49ers. Temple lost the game on the glass, getting outrebounded 41-31, as well as at the free- throw line, where Temple only made four appearances, converting just one charity toss, while Charlotte knocked down 15-of-21 free throws. The backcourt tandem of David Hawkins and Maurice Collins did their part, pouring in 19 points each and combining for 10 three-pointers in the loss. Freshman Antywane Robinson was the only other player in double figures, finished with 12 points, including 4-of-6 from long range. On the year, it is only Hawkins and Collins with double-digit averages. Hawkins is shooting 34.4 percent from behind the arc and leads the team with 17.2 ppg, but his 14 assists are overshadowed by a team-high 20 turnovers. Collins isn't far behind in the scoring column, adding 13.2 ppg. The pair are a lethal duo from behind the arc, combining for 19 three-pointers in the first four games. Robinson has been a pleasant surprise at 9.5 ppg, while veteran Alex Wesby (8.5 ppg) has yet to provide substantial offensive numbers, but does lead the team i n rebounding (6.2 rpg).
The Quakers lost a nail-biter to Delaware last time out, failing to get back over .500 on the season. The loss spoiled quality performances by the team's two stars, as Koko Archibong finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Ugonna Onyekwe added 16 points and five boards in defeat. Unfortunately for Penn, the rest of the team contributed very little outside of Andrew Toole, who came off the bench to chip in eight points. A defensive team by nature, Penn is averaging just 61.0 points per game in the early going. It hasn't helped that the team is shooting under 40 percent from the floor (.399) and just 30 percent from behind the arc (.308). Defensively, the team is performing well, holding the opposition to just 56.0 ppg, on 37.9 percent shooting, including a paltry 23.4 percent from three-point range. Onyekwe is clearly the go-to-guy for the Quakers, as he leads the team in both scoring (17.3 ppg) and rebounding (7.0 rpg). Toole and Archibong are viable options as well, each adding 11.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per effort.
The Owls are really struggling, but they have also played yet another tough schedule to open the season. The same cannot be said for the Quakers, who are finding a way to lose games they simply wouldn't a year ago. In another classic Big Five tussle, Temple will find a way to finally get in the win column.
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