Temple @ Pennsylvania preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 19, 2019 ) Pennsylvania 77, Temple 70

Things are falling apart rapidly for Temple, which finds itself desperate for a win Saturday when it visits local rival Pennsylvania. This game is part of the Big 5 - an annual round-robin of games between five schools located in and around Philadelphia.

Temple played better offensively in a loss to Cincinnati its last time out, but first-year coach Aaron McKie wasn't too interested in moral victories. “It’s still a loss,” McKie said. “Offensively, we played better, but we gotta get consistent with the way we wanna offensively and defensively. We can’t be a roller coaster ride where one day you’re really good defensively and offensively you’re not that great. We just gotta find some middle ground.” The best two players for the Owls - Quinton Rose (26) and Nate Pierre-Louis (22) each set a season high for points, but it wasn't enough as the team allowed the Bearcats to shoot 52 percent from the floor and nearly 40 percent from 3-point land. Penn, meanwhile, has not found the win column in 2020 as the team has lost its last three games, including tight defeats against Princeton (63-58) and Saint Joseph's (87-81) most recently.

TIME: 2 p.m. ET. TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia

ABOUT TEMPLE (10-8): Rose ranks in the top 10 in the American Athletic Conference in scoring, assists, steals and free-throw percentage, although his shooting percentage (37.9) is a career low for the senior guard. Pierre-Louis averages 11.2 points and 8.5 rebounds and ranks in the top five in the league in both rebounding and steals. Alani Moore II contributed 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting versus Cincinnati after struggling to the tune of 2-of-12 from the field over his previous three games and 8-of-30 over his previous six contests.

ABOUT PENNSYLVANIA (7-7): Picked to finish second in the Ivy League, Penn enters Friday's action as the league's only 0-2 team in league play. In the loss to Saint Joseph's, Penn missed 27 of its 34 3-pointers, while allowing the Hawks to shoot a crisp 44.4 percent on 27 3-point attempts. A.J. Brodeur was the Quakers' best player in that one with 33 points on 14-of-22 shooting, not to mention seven rebounds, three assists and two steals in the Big 5 defeat.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Temple had won 11 straight matchups before falling to Penn at home last season, 77-70.

2. This is the first time in 31 seasons that Fran Dunphy - a long-time coach at Penn and then at Temple - will not be on the sidelines for a Penn/Temple matchup.

3. Brodeur's 22 blocks are twice as many as Temple's leader (De'Vonde Perry - 11).

PREDICTION: Penn 68, Temple 63