It was supposed to be a nothing more than a simple road game for the Duke Blue Devils, one last quasi-practice session before they started conference play in the ACC. Instead, the Temple Owls pulled off a major upset on Wednesday night, beating the Duke Blue Devils by a final score of 78-73.
Khalif Wyatt led the way for the Owls with 22 points, three rebounds, three assists and five steals. He hit three of five three-pointers along the way. Ramone Moore had just nine points, two rebounds and four assists for the night
Temple held Duke’s leading scorer Austin Rivers to just 12 points. Rivers entered the game averaging more than 15 points per game this season. Mason Plumlee led the Blue Devils with 16 points, 13 rebounds, one steal and three blocked shots.
Prior to the game, it looked like Duke had every advantage, including a 9-0 record against Temple. The Blue Devils were averaging more than 91 points per game and beating opponents by wide margins. They beat Penn 85-55 on Jan. 1, their last game.
Temple was more accustomed to much smaller margins, even needing overtime for a two-point win over the Buffalo Bulls. Instead, they got a major confidence boost with the giant-killing, their last game before they start conference play this weekend against Dayton.
This was the fourth straight win for Temple, and the fourth season in a row they they Owls have pulled off an upset over a top ten opponent. Last year they beat Georgetown. Now at 10-4, the Owls are tied for the third-best record in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
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