Owls facing a young and talented Texas squad

Texas is one of the youngest men's basketball teams in the nation.

The Longhorns start three freshmen. Three other freshmen are among their top four reserves.

But at 8-2, Texas hasn't been experiencing growing pains.

"They are really talented, young but talented," said Temple coach Fran Dunphy, whose squad faces the Longhorns on Saturday in Austin. "One of the guys, that isn't so young, is the kid [J'Covan] Brown, who's really a very, very good scorer. He's a junior. He will be a handful for us."

The 6-foot-1 guard averages a team-leading 18.9 points to go with 4.5 assists.

But he isn't Texas' only scoring option.

Freshman reserve guard Sheldon McClellan (12 points per game) is the team's second leading scorer. He's followed by the three freshmen starters in point guard Mych Kabongo (10.1 points, 6.3 assists), guard Julien Lewis (10 points), and forward Jonathan Holmes (9.5 points, 5.5 rebounds).

Plymouth Whitemarsh graduate Jaylen Bond is also a contributor. The reserve freshman forward averages 4.5 points and 4.2 rebounds as the seventh man. However, Bond posted his first double-double when he finished with career highs of 18 points and 12 rebounds in Tuesday's 93-40 victory over Nicholls State.

Thanks to Brown and the freshman class, Texas takes a six-game winning streak into Saturday's contest.

"Again, a great challenge for us as we go about this trip we are going to make," Dunphy said. "We are looking forward to it."

Like Texas, Temple has a balanced attack.

Ramone Moore, a fifth-year senior guard, averages a team-leading 18.4 points. Junior guard Khalif Wyatt (14.6) and senior point guard Juan Fernandez (12.5) are the team's other active double-figure scorers.

Center Micheal Eric, a graduate student, averages 10.5 points but will miss his fifth consecutive game with a right kneecap injury. Senior swingman Scootie Randall, who has not played this season and will miss Saturday's game, is the other injured (left knee) starter.