The 3-2 Temple Owls are coming off a three-point loss at the hands of Bowling Green, but will look to bounce back tonight against the Central Michigan Chippewas. The Owls were without their defensive anchor and leading rebounder, Michael Eric during the loss at Bowling Green, and it's now been discovered that Eric will miss the next six weeks with a right knee injury.
Without Eric, Temple will need freshman big man Anthony Lee to step into the starting lineup and contribute right away. In his first start of the season, Lee scored 11 points on seven shots and grabbed nine rebounds. The only other game Lee played significant minutes was against Purdue, when Eric dealt with early foul trouble. Lee contributed six points on three shots and grabbed seven rebounds, in 26 minutes of action.
Where Lee will have to step up most is defensively, where he's only recorded two blocks all season – compared to the two per game Eric is averaging.
The Chippewas are 4-2 on the season and are currently on a two-game winning streak. Sophomore guard Trey Zeigler leads the team in scoring at 17.2 per game, to go along with 9.3 rebounds per game.
The game tips off at 4:00 p.m. EST.