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Temple prepares for rematch with revenge-minded UConn

Temple is playing its best basketball of the season and there is no doubt that a turning point came during a 55-53 win at then-No. 23 Connecticut on Jan. 5.

Temple is playing its best basketball of the season and there is no doubt that a turning point came during a 55-53 win at then-No. 23 Connecticut on Jan. 5.

Including that game, the Owls have won eight of their last 10.

More important, that win came after Temple's worst performance of the season, a 77-50 drubbing by visiting Houston on Jan. 2.

Temple now has a huge rematch with UConn in an American Athletic Conference game at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Liacouras Center.

Both teams have NCAA tournament aspirations. Temple is 14-8 overall and in second place in the AAC with an 8-3 mark. (First- place SMU is 9-2 but ineligible for the conference or NCAA tournaments). UConn is 17-6, 7-3.

"That win [over UConn] meant a lot, especially coming off that loss at home to Houston, which was bad," said Temple point guard Josh Brown, who hit the game-winning shot against the Huskies. "We couldn't let our guard down, because the same outcome could have happened the next game."

UConn shot just 18 for 57 from the field (31.6 percent), including 4 of 20 from three-point range, in the loss.

"We knew we didn't give it all we had against Houston and couldn't let that happen again," Brown said.

Both teams have won three in a row, but this is a different UConn squad from the one Temple faced. The Huskies, who are coached by former 76er Kevin Ollie, are more fortified in the middle.

UConn was without injured center Amida Brimah in the first meeting. The 7-foot junior flyswatter missed 11 games while recovering from surgery to repair the middle finger on his right hand. He returned Jan. 31.

Brimah is averaging 2.6 blocked shots and has 31 blocks in 12 games this season and 244 in his career. As a comparison, Temple's leading shot blocker is 6-9 Obi Enechionyia, who has 20 in 21 games.

"We know they are a different team now with Brimah anchoring their interior defense," said Brown, who leads the AAC in minutes played (35.8 per game).

Rodney Purvis, a 6-foot-4 junior, is now coming off the bench, performing the same instant-offense role as Temple's Devin Coleman.

Purvis, who scored 11 points against Temple, averaged 13.8 points in his last five games and is averaging 13.3 overall.

"Rodney Purvis has bought into his new role and I think they are playing at their best level all year," Temple coach Fran Dunphy said.

The same can be said of the Owls, whose two losses in the last 10 games were by a total of five points, against Memphis and East Carolina.

"We know they feel we stole one from them at their place and they will try to come in and get one here," said guard Quenton DeCosey, averaging a team-high 16.5 points. "We have to protect our court and be ready because we know they will come in here aggressively."