NCAAB Game Preview - Maryland at Temple

Thu Nov 28, 2019 11:00 AM EST

The No. 5 Maryland men's basketball team will try for a second straight 6-0 start when it takes on undefeated Temple in the Orlando Invitational Thursday in Florida.

The winner of this game takes on the winner of the Texas A&M-Harvard match-up, which also is being played on Thanksgiving Day, on Friday.

If Maryland can win and improve to 6-0, it will be the fifth time in the last six seasons that the Terrapins have done this. But so far, Maryland has gotten off to a strong start despite struggling in the first half at times.

The Terrapins have won their first five games by at least 10 points, and that's the first time this has happened since the 1998-99 season. Maryland made it all the way to the Sweet 16 that year, a season in which it started with eight straight double-digit wins.

Coach Mark Turgeon thinks that this tournament in Orlando is going to give his team a chance to improve while getting away from home.

"We can really grow up a lot," Turgeon told the media recently. "I think we have grown up a lot in the last five games. I think three games in four days against really good competition, we can really grow up. The good thing is that we respond."

Maryland's last game was an 86-63 victory over George Mason on Friday. Jalen Smith had 12 points and 10 rebounds while Anthony Cowan Jr. led the team with 16 points.

Cowan moved past Jake Layman for 19th on the all-time scoring list at Maryland. The guard now has 1,440 points.

Also, freshman Makhi Mitchell turned some heads by finished with 12 points and eight rebounds -- in only 10 minutes during the second half of this game.

Temple also has started fast this season under new coach Aaron McKie, winning its first four games. The Owls haven't played Maryland since 2012 when they beat the Terrapins at The Palestra.

However, Temple got a boost on Tuesday when sophomore Jake Forrester became eligible to play after the NCAA finally approved his transfer waiver, according to the school. The 6-foot-8 forward should give the Owls some help at both ends of the floor and is eligible to play in this game.

"We are thankful that the NCAA has approved our waiver to allow Jake to play this season," McKie said in a statement. "Jake has been competing hard in practice, and we are looking forward to seeing him in game action."

The Owls are paced on offense by guards Nate Pierre-Louis and Quinton Rose. Pierre-Louis is first in points (15.8 per game), assists (3.5) and steals (3.5) while leading the American Athletic Conference in rebounding (10.8).

Rose ranks second on Temple in scoring (15.0) and is first in three-point shooting (40 percent) through the first four games.

The Owls are coming off of a 70-61 victory over USC in Los Angeles on Friday night. Josh Pierre-Louis, Nate's younger brother, scored a season-best 15 points while teammate De'Vondre Perry added eight of his season-high 12 during a 19-2 second-half run that changed the game.

--Field Level Media