Tigers travel to Temple for AAC road contest

Saturday, January 13

Philadelphia, Pa.

1 PM

University of Memphis

Temple

Jeremiah Martin, 2017-18 Men's Basketball

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Jan 12, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Memphis Game Notes (vs. Temple)Temple Game Notes (vs. Memphis)

By: Phil Stukenborg

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Now that the University of Memphis has put together a two-game American Athletic Conference winning streak, the Tigers will try to do something Saturday in Philadelphia they haven't done this season: pick up a road win.

The Tigers (11-6, 2-2 AAC) will play Temple (8-8, 1-4) in the Liacouras Center in a game that tips off a 1 p.m. (CT). CBS Sports Network will carry the game.

Memphis, after an 0-2 league start, won league home games against Tulsa and Tulane to get to .500. The Tigers had opened with AAC road losses at Cincinnati and UCF.

In Temple, the Tigers will face an Owls' team coming off an impressive road win at SMU. Temple snapped SMU's 33-game home winning streak with a 66-64 victory. Josh Brown hit the game-winner with 1.2 seconds left on a short left-handed jump hook and Quinton Rose led the Owls with 23 points, including 14 straight at one point in the second half.

"Temple is really playing well," said Tiger coach Tubby Smith. "They had a big win against SMU to break their (33) game winning streak."

Against Tulane, the Tigers placed five players in double figures, including a career-high 31 from Jeremiah Martin. Mike Parks Jr. had his second straight 16-point game and Kyvon Davenport added 15.

"We had balanced scoring and guys did a better job of sharing the basketball," Smith said.

Memphis is 0-5 away from FedExForum. One of its losses came New Year's Eve at No. 21 Cincinnati. The Tigers also lost to Louisville at Madison Square Garden.

The Tigers played better Jan. 3 at UCF, but dropped a 65-56 decision.

"We talked about having to be road warriors," Smith said. "I'm eager to see how we perform on the road. I hope we'll play with a little more confidence."

NOTABLES

Temple returns 72.3 percent of its scoring its 2016-17 team. Memphis returns 22.4 percent.
Saturday's game is the only meeting this season between Memphis and Temple. The other one-time foes for the U of M are Houston, SMU and Wichita State.
Memphis coach Tubby Smith's record in Philadelphia is 4-3. He coached Kentucky in NCAA Tournament play twice (once in 2001, once in 2006).