SAN ANTONIO – Back at home in the Convocation Center after two road games last week, the UTSA men’s basketball team (4-15, 0-7 AMER) will host Temple (12-7, 4-2 AMER) in the first American Conference rematch of the season. With the tip time moved up to 12 p.m. due to weather concerns for Temple travel, Saturday will be UTSA’s Rowdy Rodeo game, presented by Pedrotti’s Ranch, and will stream live on ESPN+.
Ticket Information
Single Game Tickets
Direct Link: Temple Tickets
Adults: $15
Juniors (ages 3-18): $13
Seniors (ages 65+): $13
Military (with ID): $13
UTSA Students: Free Admission with UTSA ID, download tickets at goUTSA.com/studentlogin.
Rowdy Rodeo
Presented by Pedrotti’s Ranch, UTSA Athletics is celebrating San Antonio’s Rodeo culture and the first 100 fans will get a limited edition light-up cowboy hat. There will be a San Antonio Rodeo and Stock Show ticket giveaway via on-court promotions. Tons of on-court games for fans to be part of with prizes from UTSA sponsors. At halftime, there will be on-court performances from John Jay High School dance and Texas Cheer, as well as a National Anthem performance from Larkspur Elementary.
On the Air and on the Web
Saturday’s 12 p.m. tipoff with the Owls at the Convocation Center will be streamed on ESPN+, with Jordy Fee-Platt (play-by-play), San Antonio and UTSA Hall-of-Famer Devin Brown (analyst) and former UTSA women’s basketball star Carlie Heineman (reporter) on the call.
The radio broadcast will appear on Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket with Andy Everett (play-by-play) and former coach Tim Carter (analyst) covering the action live from the Convo. The broadcast will feature a 30-minute pregame and 15-minute postgame show – available online at Ticket760.com or via the free iHeartRadio app.
UTSA Athletics will also provide Live Stats.
About the UTSA Roadrunners
Saturday marks the first conference rematch of the season as UTSA looks to get things back on the winning track against the Owls. The Roadrunners average 68.2 ppg with 37 rpg on the season, ranking 61st nationally with 4.4 bpg.
Influencing the blocks stat in a major way, sophomore forward Baboucarr Njie registered seven swats at North Texas (six in the second half) to shelve Tom Oswald’s 1996 record (6). Njie paces the team with 35 blocks, ranking 35th in the NCAA, while also listing second for UTSA with 5.2 rpg and putting up 7.4 ppg. Jamir Simpson continues to be the Roadrunners’ scoring leader, averaging 15.7 ppg on 38.9 percent shooting, while Austin Nunez has come on strong in American play to reach 10.1 ppg on the year and 14.4 ppg in conference games – leading the team with 44 assists and a team-best 88.2 free throw percentage. Dorian Hayes also has had some big performances in conference play, averaging 8.9 ppg and leading the team with 43 from long range. Kaidon Rayfield tops the boards list with 5.4 rpg.
About the Temple Owls
Temple defeated Rice on Wednesday in Houston, 69-65, getting back in the win column after back-to-back losses to Florida Atlantic and Memphis – those snapping a seven-game win streak. In the third year under Adam Fisher, the Owls are 12-7 with a 4-2 record in American play.
Temple’s offensive efficiency has paid dividends in its record and the Owls shoot 45.2 percent from the field with a 35.7 percent long-range rate in their slowed-down style of play that ranks at 260th nationally in pace of play. The Owls average 75.4 ppg and just 9.8 fast break ppg, while allowing the opposition to shoot 43.5 percent from the field.
Continuing to pace Temple’s scorers, Arkansas State transfer Derrian Ford averages 17.6 ppg on 41.2 percent shooting, grabbing a team-second-best 4.6 rpg. A huge impact when these teams met in Philadelphia, Nebraska transfer Gavin Griffiths puts up 12.3 ppg and leads Temple with 4.9 rpg and 2.3 bpg. San Antonio native Jordan Mason not only scores 11.3 but doles out an American-fourth 4.6 apg. Aiden Tobiason also makes an impact in numerous areas with 14.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.1 apg and a team-best 25 steals.
Series History
In Philadelphia just after the New Year, UTSA battled early, but a Temple run heading into halftime gave the Owls an edge in the second half, pulling away to a 76-57 win that made the series 4-1 in Temple’s favor. After seeing way too much of Temple in the 2023-24 season, the Roadrunners and Owls met just one time last season, an 88-79 UTSA win in San Antonio at the Convocation Center – where UTSA is 1-1 in the series. In 2023-24, the teams met three times in a 23-day span, going from Philadelphia to San Antonio and then Fort Worth for the conference championships – with Temple claiming all three by an average of only 3.6 ppg. UTSA fell to the Owls on the road on Feb. 18, 2024, for the first game in the series.
Up Next
The Roadrunners return to the court at the Convo on Wednesday, hosting the lone meeting with UAB this season on Jan. 28 for Suits and Sneakers vs. Cancer. The Roadrunners then catch their first BYE of the conference season over the weekend.
- UTSA -