Just two days after having a three-game losing streak snapped by the Texas Longhorns, the Temple Owls stay in the Lone Star State Monday as they visit the Rice Owls at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, TX (9:00 p.m. ET).
This will be the second straight contest for Temple (6-3) in the state of Texas, as Saturday the Owls lost to the Longhorns, 77-65. Temple's junior guard Khalif Wyatt netted a game-best 24 points in the losing effort, which featured Temple leading 34-31 at halftime.
This season, senior guard Ramone Moore leads the Owls in scoring (17.8 points per game), while Wyatt is second (15.8). Senior forward Micheal Eric is averaging a double-double per game with 10.5 ppg and 11.3 rebounds per game, while senior guard Juan Fernandez needs just three points to surpass the career mark of 1,000.
Meanwhile, Rice (7-3) is playing Temple for only the second time in program history. The last time these two schools played was in 1948 when Temple downed Rice, 70-59.
Rice will be hungry for a victory Monday, as the Owls dropped their first home contest Saturday, 87-81, to Lamar. Forward Arsalan Kazemi, who's averaging 14.6 ppg and 12.3 rpg, is the best player for Rice.