Basketball preview: Cincinnati at Temple
No. 23 Cincinnati (10-2 overall, 0-0 American Athletic Conference) at Temple (9-4, 0-0)
When: Wednesday, 9 p.m. Liacouras Center (10,200).
Television: ESPNU.
Coaches: Cincinnati, Mick Cronin (11th season, 217-131; overall, 286-155); Temple, Fran Dunphy (11th season, 223-124; overall, 533-287).
Series: Cincinnati leads, 17-9.
Previous series game: Temple won, 67-65 at home on Jan. 16, 2016.
Points per game: Cincinnati, 81.2 ppg.; Temple, 74.38 ppg.
Opponents points per game: Cincinnati, 63.1 ppg.; Temple, 71.69 ppg.
Up next: Cincinnati host Tulane on Jan. 1 at 7 p.m. Temple visits Central Florida, Dec. 31 at 4.
CINCINNATI
Nov. 11 Brown, 84-55*
Nov. 14 Albany, 74-51*
Nov. 19 Rhode Island, 71-76
Nov. 20 Penn State, 71-50
Nov. 23 Samford, 70-55
Nov. 26 Liscomb, 91-68
Dec. 1 at Iowa State, 55-54 OT
Dec. 4 Bowling Green, 85-56
Dec. 10 at Butler, 65-75
Dec. 13 Texas Southern, 96-58
Dec. 17 Fairleigh Dickinson, 119-68
Dec. 22 Marshall, 93-91 OT
*Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Tip-Off
TEMPLE
Nov. 11 La Salle, 97-92 OT
Nov. 14 New Hampshire, 52-57
Nov. 17 at UMass, 67-70
Nov. 20 Manhattan, 88-67
Nov. 24 89-86 Florida State*
Nov. 25 81-77 West Virginia*
Nov. 30 at St. Joseph's, 78-72
Dec. 3 Penn, 70-62
Dec. 7 George Washington, 63-66
Dec. 10 DePaul, 74-65**
Dec. 13 at Villanova, 57-78
Dec. 17 NJIT, 68-63
Dec. 22 Yale, 83-77
*NIT Season Tip-Off at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn
**Played in Miami
TEMPLE
Probable Starters
G Alani Moore, 5-10, Fr., 9.4 ppg., 2.2 apg.
G Shizz Alston Jr., 6-4, So. 12.6 ppg, 4.5 apg.
G Daniel Dingle, 6-7, r-Sr., 11.9 ppg., 4.4 rpg.
F Obi Enechionyia, 6-10, Jr. 16.2 ppg., 7.6 rpg., 2.4 bpg.
C Ernest Aflakpui, 6-10, So., 4.4 ppg., 5.7 rpg.
Key reserves
G Quinton Rose, 6-8, Fr., 10.5 ppg., 3.5 rpg.
F Mark Williams, 6-8, Sr., 4.5 ppg., 2.4 rpg.
C Damion Moore, 6-11, Fr., 2.0 ppg., 2.3 rpg.
CINCINNATI
Probable Starters
F Kyle Washington, 6-9, Jr., 14.4 ppg., 7.8 rpg.
F Gary Clark, 6-9, Jr., 10.2 ppg., 6.9 rpg.
G/F Jacob Evans III, 6-6, So., 15.9 ppg., 4.3 rpg.
G Troy Caupain, 6-4, Sr., 10.3 ppg., 5.6 rpg., 4.5 apg.
G Kevin Johnson, 6-3, Sr., 7.8 ppg., 1.4 apg.
Key reserves
G Justin Jenifer, 5-10, So., 5.1 ppg., 2.6 apg.
G Jarron Cumberland, 6-5, Fr., 5.8 ppg., 2.1 rpg.
F Tre Scott, 6-8, r-Fr, 5.0 ppg., 3.7 rpg.
F Quadri Moore, 6-8, Jr., 3.2 ppg., 1.8 rpg.
C Nysier Brooks, 6-11, Fr., 3.5 ppg., 1.4 rpg.
About Cincinnati: Cincinnati was the preseason choice to win the AAC title, edging Connecticut by one vote...In the win over Marshall, the Bearcats overcame a 15-point deficit to send the game into overtime on Jacob Evans' three-point field goal with 10 seconds left in regulation... Evans is shooting 43.6 percent from three-point range...He is averaging 17.3 points and shooting 58.1 percent in his last three games...Cincinnati leads the AAC in field goal percentage (49.7)...The Bearcats are averaging just 10.1 turnovers per game...Gary Clark was named the AAC Player of the Week on Monday after scoring a career high 26 points (on 12 for 15 shooting) and grabbing 10 rebounds in the win over Marshall...Kyle Washington has five double-doubles...Troy Caupain has 411 career assists and needs 15 to pass Oscar Robertson for fifth on the Cincinnati all-time list...Cincinnati is one of eight schools to play in six consecutive NCAA tournaments... The Bearcats are shooting .325 from three-point range and .636 from the foul line.
About Temple: The Owls are shooting .385 from three-point range and .744 from the foul line...In last week's win over Yale, Alani Moore scored a career-high 26 points. He hit 4 of 8 from beyond the arc and 10 of 11 from the foul line...Obi Enechionyia, who suffered an undisclosed injury against Yale, is fine, according to coach Fran Dunphy and will be in the starting lineup...Josh Brown, who has missed the last two games with Achilles tendon soreness, isn't likely to go according to Dunphy, but he returned to practice and did some half-court work on Monday...Enechionyia was held to a season-low three points in the win over Yale, but Danile Dingle helped pick up the slack with 19 points...Dingle shot 4 of 12 from the field (2 of 6 from three-point range) but hit all nine of his foul shots...The Owls hit 28 of 30 free throws against Yale...Over the last two games Temple is 43 for 48 at the foul line (89.6 percent)...Temple is finished its non-conference schedule and will now have 18 straight American Athletic Conference games...The Owls have won three in a row over Cincinnati...Temple is averaging 11.1 turnovers per game...Shizz Alston has 59 assists and just 13 turnovers, a 4.58 assist-to-turnover ratio, which leads the AAC.