SMU fans may still be riding high after the Mustangs’ romp of UConn in prime time, but another big opponent is coming to Moody Coliseum on Thursday when SMU hosts Temple. The Owls are 10-3 in the American Athletic Conference and a game and a half behind SMU for first place.

Temple is riding a seven-game win streak that includes a 75-59 win over Cincinnati on Feb. 10 and a last-second win at Memphis on Feb. 7. The streak comes after a three-game skid in early January that included SMU’s 13-point comeback win against the Owls in Philadelphia.

SMU’s defeat over UConn was the Mustangs’ 19th win in their last 21 games. Big men Markus Kennedy, Yanick Moreira and Cannen Cunningham were too strong for the Huskies’ small lineup to handle, combining for 35 points on 12-of-22 shooting and 22 rebounds.

Temple plays a similarly small lineup, with no player taller than 6-foot-8 in the starting five. While opponents have scored just 0.9 points per possession against Temple (8th nationally), the Owls shoot a paltry 38.4 percent from the field, which ranks 338th.

The game tips off from Moody at 6 p.m. central and can be seen on ESPN2.

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Tree-On-Three

Owls

1. G Will Cummings: Cummings is the Owls leader in scoring (13.7 ppg) and assists (4.1 apg), but he shoots 37.6 percent from the field. Temple’s three leading scorers all shoot below 38 percent and can be prone to forcing jump shots. Cummings is also just an 18 percent three-point shooter.
2. G Jesse Morgan: Morgan gave Temple a big lift when he became eligible in December after transferring from UMass. He’s a 35 percent shooter but averages 12.8 ppg and hits 88 percent of his free throws.
3. F Jaylen Bond: The AAC’s leader with 8.3 rebounds per game is the only offensive threat Temple has in the paint. With the guards doing so much scoring, Bond doesn’t get as many touches and only averages 8.2 ppg. He’s also made only 11 of 37 free throws (29.7 percent. Yes, actually).

Mustangs

1. G Nic Moore: Moore had seven turnovers in the first meeting with Temple, but has only had 15 in the nine games since. Moore needs to keep taking care of the ball, especially against a stiff Owls defense.
2. G Ryan Manuel: Manuel is making a case for AAC defensive player of the year in his senior season, and his perimeter defense especially sticks out. He’ll be all over Cummings and Morgan and look to force them to take bad shots.
3. F Markus Kennedy: Kennedy dominated Temple in January with 21 points and seven rebounds on 9-of-11 shooting. Look for SMU to give him plenty of touches against a small Temple front court.