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Tough opponents for Temple basketball

Temple's basketball team prides itself on facing tough nonconference opponents. That's why the Owls will play national powers Kansas, Duke, and Syracuse next season.

Temple will play Duke and Syracuse on neutral courts and start a home-and-home with Kansas this season. (AP file photo)
Temple will play Duke and Syracuse on neutral courts and start a home-and-home with Kansas this season. (AP file photo)Read more

Temple's basketball team prides itself on facing tough nonconference opponents.

That's why the Owls will play national powers Kansas, Duke, and Syracuse next season.

The Kansas game will be part of a home-and-home series. Temple will face the Jayhawks next season at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan. The teams will meet again during the 2014-15 season in Philadelphia, most likely at the Wells Fargo Center.

Temple also is scheduled to play Duke next season at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. It will mark the third consecutive season the teams will square off.

The Owls will face Syracuse in next season's Gotham Classic at New York's Madison Square Garden. The game will not be a Big East matchup, because the Owls will not become an all-sports member of the conference until 2013. The football team, however, will join the Big East next season.

The Orange finished 34-3 this year, losing to Ohio State in the NCAA tournament's East Regional final.

Kansas went 32-7 and lost to Kentucky in the NCAA national championship game. The Blue Devils finished the season 29-7 and lost to Lehigh in the second round of the NCAA tournament.