Free Live Odds - Scores and Odds - Sports News - Sports Information - Live Scores - Sports Statistics - Sports Articles - Sports Standings - Live Scor

GAME NOTES: Big 5 action ensues at the legendary Palestra in Philadelphia today, as the 21st-ranked Temple Owls battle Atlantic 10 Conference rival Saint Joseph's.

Temple has won its last two games and four of its last five to improve to 21-5 overall and 9-2 in conference. The Owls, who are 9-3 in true road games and 10-4 away from their nest when you factor in a pair of neutral-site affairs, are tied with Xavier for second place in the A-10 standings -- just a half game behind league-leading Richmond coming into this weekend's action. The team's most recent win occurred at St. Bonaventure on Wednesday night in a 73-55 final.

Saint Joseph's has struggled for much of the season, and the Hawks have lost three straight and six of their last seven overall. As a result, SJU is just 9-17 on the year and 3-9 in conference. The Hawks are 7-5 in official home games. Saint Joseph's was embarrassed in its most recent outing, suffering an 88-52 setback at Xavier on Wednesday night.

This is the 150th meeting between these two local rivals, with Temple leading the series, 84-65. The Owls claimed a 73-46 victory in the first meeting of the season back on January 6th to notch their sixth straight win over the Hawks.

Ryan Brooks (15.0 ppg) continues to pace the Temple offense, while Juan Fernandez (12.0 ppg) and Lavoy Allen (11.2 ppg) also turn in double figures on a consistent basis. Fernandez leads the A-10 in three-point percentage (.447), while Allen ranks third in rebounding (10.3 rpg). As a team, Temple is netting 65.8 ppg behind 43.5 percent shooting from the field and 34.4 percent from long range. The Owls have been stingy when it comes to putting the clamps on at the defensive end, limiting the opposition to 57.4 ppg on typical shooting efforts of only 38.4 percent overall and 28.1 percent on three-pointers. TU also owns favorable margins in rebounding (+3.7) and turnovers (+1.2). Ramone Moore has started the last three games in place of Fernandez, and he has led the Owls in scoring in four of the last five games overall, averaging 15.2 ppg during that stretch, including an 18-point effort in the recent win over St. Bonaventure. Fernandez added 15 points and five assists off the bench versus the Bonnies, while Brooks chipped in 13 points in hitting 6-of-12 field goal attempts. The Owls shot 48.3 percent for the game, while holding SBU to 40.4 percent, which included a 1-of-8 effort from beyond the arc. Temple committed just seven turnovers in the game, while the Bonnies were guilty of 15 miscues.

Saint Joseph's is led by the duo of Darrin Govens (12.8 ppg) and Garrett Williamson (11.8 ppg), although the former is shooting just 38 percent from the floor, and the latter has turned the ball over a team-high 70 times. Junior forward Idris Hilliard (10.5 ppg) is the third and final double-digit scorer for the Hawks, who are dropping just 40.8 percent of their field goal attempts as a team, with only 29.9 percent of their three-point tries finding the bottom of the net. They are also being outrebounded by an average of 8.6 rpg. Williamson was the only SJU player to reach double figures in the 36- point loss at Xavier earlier this week, tallying 17 points on 6-of-10 accuracy from the field. The team as a whole hit just 33.9 percent of its total shots, which included a dreadful 1-of-19 performance from beyond the arc. Certainly adding to the Hawks' woes was the fact that Xavier came up with nearly every loose ball, claiming an eye-popping 53-17 rebounding advantage.

The Hawks have had their wings clipped on several occasions this year, and this meeting with one of their fiercest rivals will likely end in another lopsided defeat. Expect the Owls to turn up the pressure on defense and to get balanced scoring at the other end as they continue their quest for the A-10 regular-season title.