Tulsa Men’s Basketball Set for Rematch at Temple

GAME #26: TULSA (5-20, 1-13 AAC) at Temple (14-13, 8-6 AAC)
Date/Time:	Sunday • Feb. 18, 2023 • 1:00 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Liacouras Center (10,000) • Philadelphia, Pa.
Coaches:	Tulsa – Eric Konkol (Wisconsin-Eau Claire, '00), 1st Season Temple – Aaron McKie (Temple, '94), 4th Season
TV:	ESPNU \| Dave Leno (PXP) and Perry Clark (Analyst)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM (Bruce Howard & Pooh Williamson)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	19 Meeting \| Tulsa Leads 11-7
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa (PDF) \| Temple (PDF) \| The American (PDF)

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — The University of Tulsa men's basketball heads to Philadelphia for a rematch with the Temple Owls at the Liacouras Center on Sunday afternoon.

Tipoff for the American Athletic Conference matchup is set for 1 p.m. (CT) and will air on ESPNU. Dave Leno and Perry Clark will bring fans the action. Bruce Howard and Pooh Williamson will broadcast the radio call on Big Country 99.5 FM and The Varsity Network app.

Temple (14-13, 8-6 AAC) welcomes Tulsa (5-20, 1-13 The American) looking to sweep the season series in consecutive seasons. With three straight wins, The Owls are on their first winning streak in a series the Golden Hurricane lead 11-7. However, Temple leads the series 5-4 in games at home, taking four of the five previous road meetings for TU.

The two teams met earlier this season on Jan. 10 in the Donald W. Reynolds Center. After the Owls leapt out to a large lead, Tulsa went on a 22-0 run to span the halves and erase a 20-point deficit. Temple would eventually grab what seemed like a solid grasp on the game until Tulsa made a last push before ultimately falling short 76-72.

The Hurricane is looking to right the ship in a season that has largely not gone the way as hoped. Tulsa has lost seven straight for the second time this season, with the two streaks broken up by an 81-79 win over Tulane. On Wednesday, Tulsa fell 96-69 at home to South Florida, which marks the first time in the series the Bulls have grabbed a win against the Hurricane.

The Bulls scored with little resistance in the game, shooting 62 percent from the floor while scoring 96 points, which tied the road game at UCF for most on the season. It was also the second straight game Tulsa had allowed an opponent to score 50 in the first half. Bryant Selebangue led the Hurricane with 21 points and 10 rebounds, recording his league-high 10th double-double.

Selebangue has been a bright spot this season as his play has stayed consistent throughout, including his exceptional rebounding. The sophomore transfer averages 9.5 boards a game, which tops the conference and is 24th nationally. He also shoots at an incredibly high rate, knocking down 64.3 percent of his shots, which is first in the conference and 12th in the nation. He is on pace to finish second on Tulsa's single season shooting percentage list behind Julian Hammond (1965-66) who shot at a 65.9 percent clip.

Tim Dalger is another player who has emerged on offense and on the glass for Tulsa. Dalger has scored double figures in six of the past eight games including his first career double-double against Tulane. In the eight-game stretch, he's averaged 13.6 points and 6.5 boards with shooting clips of 43.5 percent from the floor and 37.8 on 3-pointers. Only Griffin (13.8 ppg) and Selebangue (10.6 rpg) have better averages in those categories in that time.

On the other side of the court, the Owls enter Sunday's matchup on the wrong end of a four-game skid, falling to No. 2 Houston, SMU, Memphis and Wichita State. Before the previous four games, Temple had gone to overtime in consecutive games to down UCF and South Florida. Temple's last regulation win was a major upset on the road at then-No. 1 Houston, 56-55 on Jan. 22.

Khalif Battle powers the Temple offense, ranking fourth in the conference in scoring (17.9 ppg). Battle has scored 20 or more points in 13 contests this season. Damien Dunn is second on the team with 14.3 points while dishing out 3.1 assists per contest. Jamille Reynolds (10.1) is the other Owl to average double figure scoring. Reynolds also holds the team lead in rebounding, pulling down 5.6 rebounds on average.

After taking on Temple, Tulsa will return home for the final homestand of the season. The Hurricane will start with a game against East Carolina on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. on ESPN+. TU will have five days off before hosting UCF for Senior Day. Tipoff for the home finale is set for 4 p.m. on ESPNU.

Tulsa Men’s Basketball Set for Rematch at Temple

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Players Mentioned

Tim Dalger

Bryant Selebangue