Temple-Houston basketball preview box
Houston at Temple
When: Saturday, noon
Where: Liacouras Center.
Records: Houston (11-2 overall, 1-0 American Athletic Conference); Temple, (6-5, 1-0).
TV: ESPNNews
Coaches:
Houston: Kelvin Sampson (2nd season at Houston, 24-21; overall 449-248).
Temple, Fran Dunphy (10th season at Temple, 199-113; overall, 509-276).
Series: Houston leads, 2-1.
Last meeting: Feb 26, 2015, Temple won 66-54 at the Liacouras Center.
Most recent game: Houston won at South Florida, 73-67 on Wednesday. Temple won at Cincinnati on Tuesday, 77-70.
Points per game: Houston, 83.2 ppg.; Temple, 71.3 ppg.
Opponents points per game: Houston, 69.7; Temple, 70.6.
Probable Starters
TEMPLE
G Josh Brown, 6-3, Jr., 8.3 ppg., 4.5 apg.
G Quenton DeCosey, 6-5 Sr., 15.5 ppg., 6.4 rpg.
G Devin Coleman, 6-2, Sr., 8.7 ppg., 3.1rpg.
F Jaylen Bond, 6-8, Sr. 10.0 ppg., 7.4 rpg.
F Obi Enechionyia, 6-9, So. 10.1 ppg., 3.3 rpg.
Key reserves
G Levan Alston Jr., 6-4, Fr., 4.9 ppg.
G Trey Lowe, 6-6, Fr., 5.9 ppg., 1.6 rpg.
G/F Dan Dingle, 6-7, Jr., 4.5 ppg.
F Mark Williams, 6-8, Jr. 3.9 ppg.
Probable Starters
HOUSTON
F Devonta Pollard, 6-8, Sr., 14.3 ppg.., 6.5 rpg.
C Kyle Meyer, 6-10, Jr., 3.3 ppg., 2.7 rpg.
G Rob Gray Jr., 6-2, So., 18.5 ppg., 2.2 rpg.
G Damyean Dotson, 6-5, Jr., 13.2 ppg., 7.8 rpg.
G Galen Robinson Jr., 6-0, Fr., 7.8 ppg., 4.1 apg.
Key reserves
F Danrad Knowles, 6-10, R-Jr., 5.4 ppg., 3.2 rpg.
F Xavier Dupree, 6-9, Jr., 1.9 ppg., 2.3 rpg.
G Ronnie Johnson, 6-0, R-Jr., 12.1 ppg., 3.2 apg.
G LeRon Barnes, 6-5, R-Sr., 5.5 ppg., 5.9 rpg.
About Temple: Tuesday's win over No. 22 Cincinnati marked the ninth year in a row that the Owls have beaten a ranked team…In the win, Temple matched two season highs – shooting 50 percent from the field and making 10 three-point field goals…Temple leads the AAC in free throw percentage (.744)…The Owls are shooting .320 from three-point range, which is 8th in the AAC, but they are second in three-pointers made (7.5 per game)…Josh Brown is third in the AAC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.8)…Quenton DeCosey is fourth in the AAC in free throw percentage (.859)…Temple has won two in a row and three of four…DeCosey had a team-high 19 points in the win over Cincinnati while Daniel Dingle and Devin Coleman each scored 14.
About Houston:
Devonta Pollard scored 20 points and Damyean Dotson scored 17 points on five three-pointers in Wednesday's win at USF…Houston had a season-low six turnovers in the win…Rob Gray Jr. leads the AAC in scoring (18.5 ppg.)…Houston is second in the AAC in turnover margin (+3.6)…Galen Robinson Jr. is second in the AAC in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.3)….Ronnie Johnson is second in the AAC in free throw percentage (.878)…Houston has won three in a row and six of seven…The Cougars best win was a 105-98 home victory over LSU when Gray scored 31 points in 26 minutes on Dec. 13.