Game On! Temple still Scheduled to Face Cincinnati Thursday night

Despite the ‘bomb cyclone’ that hit the East Coast the morning of January 4, forcing several school and work closings, Temple returns to the hardwood to play #19/20 Cincinnati Thursday night. Temple (0-2, 7-6) is searching for their first conference win as they take on the Bearcats (0-1,12-2) at 9 p.m. ET. The game is scheduled to air on 1210 AM WPHT and televised on ESPN 2.

For anyone that is unable make it to the Liacouras Center for the game due to the snow storm, Temple Athletics has a special ticket exchange offer. Although refunds will not be issued, customers that can no longer go to the game are able to exchange their tickets for comparable seats for one of four home games over the next two months. The games include:

• Saturday, Jan. 13, vs. Memphis at 2 p.m.
• Wednesday, Jan. 17, vs. Tulsa at 6 p.m.
• Wednesday, Feb. 7, vs. ECU at 7 p.m.
• Sunday, Feb. 25, vs. UCF at 2:00/4:00 p.m.

Tickets must be exchanged at the Liacouras Center during box office hours (Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) Exchanges can also happen on game day. Make sure to bring the unused ticket to exchange them for one of the previously mentioned four games.

Temple comes into the game off three-straight losses, including a down to the wire game against Houston on December 30. In the Owls last game before the New Years break, they overcame a 15-point deficit to lose by three to the Cougars. The Owls had some special off the bench performances including 11 points by freshman Nate Pierre-Louis. Junior Shizz Alston Jr. and Sophomore Quinton Rose continue to lead Temple’s offense as leading scorers in almost each of the 13 games so far this season.

Unlike Temple, Cincinnati comes into the game on a winning streak as they hope to win their sixth straight game. Senior forward Gary Clark will definitely draw a lot of attention from the Owls in the paint. He is on track to become the fifth player in UC history to score over 1,000 points and grab over 1,000 rebounds in his career.  Clark is one of the top players across the conference and nation in several stats categories. Junior Jacob Evans III and others alongside Clark have been pivotal in the Bearcats’ season.

The last time these two AAC teams met nearly one year ago in January of 2017, Temple had one of their best offensive performances of the year, shooting around 53% from the field. The Bearcats won by five. Prior to that, Cincinati defeated Temple by six points in another close game, just a few weeks before. Temple and Cincinnati seem to always match up well as this year is expected to be the same.