Palestra plays host to A10- ACC Matchup

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Prior to Penn’s Saturday night showdown with St. Joe’s — where we hear tickets are almost sold out — the Palestra will play host to a Big Five Basketball matinee. Fran Dunphy will return for a homecoming of sorts, as his Owls take on Maryland Saturday morning.

Those tracking Dunphy will remember Temple’s 78-73 victory over then-No. 3 Duke to kick off the New Year. The upset marked the Owls' fourth-straight year with a win over a top-ten opponent and was Temple’s first over Duke since January 25, 1996 — when Dunphy was still wearing the Red and the Blue.

Since then Temple has dropped two of its last four, while Maryland — under the leadership of first-year coach Mark Turgeon — will enter having won 10 of its last 12 games though the Terps lost to Florida State Tuesday. Each team has identical 12-5 records.

Fortunately for Temple fans, Dunphy has a little bit of Palestra magic on his side. He has a career record of 164-53 (a .756 winning percentage).

Keep an eye on the backcourt battle between Maryland guard Terrell Stoglin, who is coming off a 27-point performance Tuesday and Temple guard Ramon Moore, who has hit double digits ten games in a row.

I’ll be courtside all morning to cover the action, which kicks off at 11 am.