Temple men’s basketball looks to snap a 7 game losing streak with a win over the 15/16 Cincinnati Bearcats on Sunday at the Liacouras Center.
The Owls (5-12, 0-7 AAC), have yet to win a game in the American Athletic Conference, whereas Cincinnati is currently undefeated in conference play at 7-0. The last time these two teams met on January 14th, the Bearcats handled the Owls 69-58 for a home crowd.
Temple is the only division 1 team in the nation to have four players who average 14 or points per game, led by lone senior guard Dalton Pepper with 17.0 ppg, ranking him 4th in the conference. Joining him is junior guard Will Cummings with 16.4 ppg, sophomore guard Quenton DeCosey with 16.1 ppg and junior forward Anthony Lee with 14.2 ppg.
This will be Cummings second full game back after suffering concussion-like symptoms late in the first half against USF on January 9th. Cummings did not make the trip to the Cincinnati for the January 14th game.
DeCosey is the only Owl to score in double figures in all 17 games so far this season, including a career high 25 against Rutgers on January 1st.
Scouting Cincinnati
Cincinnati currently tops the American with an undefeated 7-0 record in conference play. They’re 15/16 ranking is a program best since being ranked 14/15 on December 31st, 2012. They are currently on an 11-game winning streak which is the team’s longest since beginning 12-0 last season.
The Bearcats are off to their best start standing at 18-2 since the 2001-2002 squad started 26-2, finishing 31-4 overall winning the Conference USA regular season title and advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
While Pepper ranks second in the conference for ppg, the Bearcats have the league’s top scorer in Sean Kilpatrick, who averages 18.6 ppg including an average of 2.5 three-pointers.
The Bearcats have held opponents to less than 70 ppg for 27 consecutive games.
The Series
This is the 22nd meeting between the Owls and Bearcats and the second between the two teams in 12 days. Cincinnati leads the series 15-6, including winning the last two, most recently on January 14th, 69-58.
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