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Opening Tip-Off

• The men’s basketball squad at Temple is back at Liacouras Center for a two-game homestand, commencing on Thursday night with an American Athletic Conference face-off against No. 18 Memphis.
• Supporters are encouraged to don white, with complimentary t-shirts available for fans seated in the lower bowl, courtesy of Liberty Coke.
• The Owls have claimed victory in three of their recent four matches, highlighted by a hard-fought 73-70 triumph over Rice on Saturday afternoon.
• Temple’s defensive performance in the opening half restricted Rice to 33.3% shooting, enabling the Owls to build a 35-31 lead at halftime.
• The match remained fiercely contested until the end, with freshman Babatunde Durodola executing a putback layup to grant Temple a 62-61 advantage.
• In the last 1:12, Temple relied on crucial free-throw shooting, converting 11 of 14 attempts to deny Rice’s late rally.
• Jamal Mashburn Jr. topped the Owls with 24 points and added four rebounds, earning AAC Honorable Mention recognition for the second consecutive week.
• Shane Dezonie contributed 10 points and achieved a personal best of 15 rebounds in just 23 minutes off the bench.
• Rice achieved a shooting percentage of 40% from the field, narrowly surpassing Temple’s 39%, and led with 42 points in the paint.
• The Owls aim to maintain their unbeaten streak at home, aspiring to equal their best start at home since the 2018-19 season, in which they secured victory in their first seven contests.
• Last season, Temple lost its only home encounter against Memphis, with a final score of 84-77.

Statistical Insights

• Shane Dezonie has recorded double-digit points in five consecutive games. In the matchup against Rice, he achieved a career-high of 15 rebounds alongside 10 points.
• With an average of 19.2 made free throws per game, the Owls rank eighth nationally. Temple also places eighth in free throws attempted, averaging 26.4 attempts. Jamal Mashburn Jr. leads the team with 4.6 made free throws and 6.0 attempts per game.
• With an average of 20.7 points per game, Jamal Mashburn Jr. ranks tenth in the nation for scoring. The last Owl to finish a season in the top ten for scoring was David Hawkins, with a rate of 24.4 ppg, placing him third nationally.
• The Owls have accumulated 72 victories against nationally-ranked opponents throughout their history. They have claimed two out of their last four matches against teams listed in the AP Poll, including a win against No. 1 Houston during the 2022-23 season.

Memphis Scouting Report

• The 18th-ranked Memphis Tigers arrive on Thursday night boasting a conference-leading record of 13-3 and an unblemished 3-0 slate in AAC competition.
• Memphis stands as the tenth-best team from beyond the arc, achieving a 40% shooting success rate.
• Sophomore guard PJ Haggerty leads the Tigers in scoring with a conference-high 22.4 points per contest.
• This season, the Tigers have triumphed over three nationally-ranked teams – UConn, Clemson, and Ole Miss.