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Temple brings new look into game against No. 10 Kansas

Temple has struggled in its two games against ranked teams this season, so the Owls hope their new look will give them an advantage when they host No. 10 Kansas at the Wells Fargo Center on Monday.

Temple has struggled in its two games against ranked teams this season, so the Owls hope their new look will give them an advantage when they host No. 10 Kansas at the Wells Fargo Center on Monday.

The Owls (7-4) have already lost to Duke (74-54) and Villanova (85-62), ranked third and seventh at the time, respectively. Since then, they've added transfers Jesse Morgan and Devin Coleman, who helped them defeat a winless Delaware team four days ago in the season debut for both.

The long-range shooting of Morgan, who started, and Coleman, a reserve, helped the Owls space the floor much better in their debut. Temple will need whatever help it can get against a Kansas team (9-1) that will be looking for its ninth straight win.

"They [Coleman and Morgan] help us in a lot of ways," Temple's Will Cummings said. "When they are making shots they can spread the floor. That's going to create more driving lanes for us. That will help with penetration, getting to the line, and dishing the ball, things we want to be able to do against anyone.

"If you are going to have a chance to upset a top-ranked team you need to do all of those things," Cummings said.

Before the Delaware game, Temple had made just 25.9 percent of its shots from three-point range. In their 82-62 win over the Blue Hens, Morgan and Coleman, ineligible for the first semester due to transfer rules, helped the Owls connect on 16 of 33 shots from behind the three-point line.

Kansas, however, is not Delaware. Against a less athletic and smaller team, Temple coach Fran Dunphy had the luxury of starting Morgan as part of a three-guard offense. Against a much more athletic and longer Kansas team that is coming off a 96-69 rout of Lafayette, the Owls won't have the same luxury.

Forward Perry Ellis leads Kansas in scoring (13.3 ppg.) and rebounding (6.6 rpg.). Guards Frank Mason and Wayne Selden Jr. average 10.9 points and 9.4 points, respectively.

"It's a different makeup when you are talking Kansas and Delaware," said Dunphy, who started forwards Daniel Dingle and Jaylen Bond alongside guards Cummings, Morgan, and Quenton DeCosey. "We've got a lot of moving parts, and we're going to have to find the best way to use them against Kansas and beyond."

@JmitchInquirer