Men's Basketball Travels to Temple
February 12, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 12, 2014
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville men's basketball team returns to action after its second eight-day layoff of the season with a contest at Temple on Friday in Philadelphia, Pa. at 6 p.m. ET.
The Feb. 14 game airs on ESPN2, with Dave O'Brien (play-by-play) and Doris Burke (analyst) calling the action. Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Bob Valvano (analyst) will announce the game on WHAS 840 AM. The contest also is available on SIRIUS channel 85 and XM channel 85.
| RELATED NEWS Basketball Game Rescheduled for Friday |
Temple leads the all-time series 4-1 and has won the last four meetings. The most recent matchup came on March 19, 2002, as the Owls prevailed 65-62 over the Cardinals in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament in Freedom Hall. Lynn Greer led coach John Chaney's Owls with 27 points, connecting on four 3-pointers. Reece Gaines scored 16 points to pace the Cardinals.
Louisville, ranked No. 13 in the Associated Press poll and eighth in the USA Today Coaches poll, is looking for its third-straight victory after most recently posting a 77-62 win over Houston on Feb. 5. The Cardinals (19-4, 8-2 AAC) boast a 37-10 record dating back to the 2007-08 season under coach Rick Pitino.
Against the Cougars, Russ Smith led all scorers with 17 points and matched a game high with six assists. Luke Hancock and Montrezl Harrell each chipped in with 15 points, and Chris Jones had 14, his first double-digit point performance since Dec. 28. Collectively, the Cardinals shot 55.6 percent from the floor, while their defense forced Houston into 14 turnovers and translated that into 24 points.
Smith, who leads the team with 18.3 points, is averaging 20.1 in conference play to rank second in the AAC. The senior is connecting on 53.1 percent of his 3-pointers against AAC opponents and also has team highs in assists (44) and steals (2) in league play. Hancock is second on the team in scoring in league games, averaging 15.8 points on 47.5 percent shooting. Harrell, who is averaging 12.6 points overall, is totaling 13.3 points and 8.4 rebounds against conference competition.
Nationally, Louisville ranks in the top 20 in six statistical categories: scoring margin (No. 1, +20.0), turnover margin (No. 3, 6.7), steals per game (No. 3, 9.6), total steals (No. 5, 220), scoring offense (No. 15, 82.3), and assist-turnover ratio (No. 18, 1.44).
Temple, which has dropped its last three contests, has a tough slate ahead beginning with the Cardinals. The Owls, 6-16 overall, including 1-9 in conference play, face four of the AAC's five top-25 teams in the coming weeks.
Last time out, Temple dropped an 88-74 decision at Houston. Dalton Pepper paced the Owls with 17 points, with the other four starters recording double-digit points as well. Temple outrebounded Houston by 10, but allowed the Cougars to score nearly half of their points in the paint (44). Houston's TaShawn Thomas had 25, while Jherrod Stiggers scored 20.
Through 22 games, Pepper leads the team in scoring (17.5), 3-pointers (62), and steals (27). Anthony Lee, who is scoring 14 points per game, is averaging 9.2 rebounds and has a team-best 18 blocks.
Temple, the only school in Division I to have four players averaging 14 or more points per game, ranks eighth in the country in fewest turnovers (221) and 13th in turnovers per game (10.0).
The Owls are under the direction of eighth-year coach Fran Dunphy, who has guided the program to a 164-91 record. Temple was picked to finish fifth in the league in the preseason coaches' poll after going 24-10 last season and reaching the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
GAME FACTS - Louisville at Temple
Date: Thursday, Feb. 13
Time: 7:02 p.m. ET
Site: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pa. (10,206)
TV: ESPN will broadcast the game, with Dave O'Brien (play-by-play) and Doris Burke (analyst) calling the action.
Radio: WHAS 840 AM will broadcast the game, with Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Bob Valvano (analyst) calling the action. The broadcast also is available on SIRIUS channel 85 and XM channel 85.
Series History: Temple leads the series 4-1 (2-0 in Louisville, 1-1 in Philadelphia, 1-0 neutral).
Next UofL Game: Sunday, Feb. 16 vs. Rutgers in KFC Yum! Center, 6 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
