SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA men’s basketball team (8-10, 2-4 AAC) will host the Temple Owls (12-7, 4-2 AAC) in the lone meeting season on Saturday at the Convocation Center. Saturday’s game will be UTSA’s cancer awareness game and will have Suits and Sneakers Against Cancer attire from the basketball staff. The seventh conference contest for the Roadrunners is scheduled for a 3 p.m. tipoff and set for broadcast on UTSA Radio and streaming on ESPN+.
Ticket Information
2024-25 Single Game Tickets
Direct Link: am.ticketmaster.com/utxsanant/buy
Adults: $15
Juniors (ages 3-18): $13
Seniors (ages 65+): $13
Military (with ID): $13
Students: Free Admission with UTSA ID, download tickets at goUTSA.com/studentlogin.
Cancer Awareness/Suits and Sneakers Game
In line with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) awareness event across the nation, the basketball staff will accent a fully-suited game attire with sneakers during the game. The first 250 fans will receive cancer awareness t-shirts and cancer survivors will be honored throughout the game. Fans will have the opportunity to fill our “I Honor” signs at the marketing table for people in their lives affected by cancer. There will be performance groups for the National Anthem and at the half, as well as numerous on-court promotions for fans to win prizes.
Whataburger Giveaway
The first 800 fans to this Saturday's UTSA Men's Basketball game will receive a coupon for a free Whataburger Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit!
On the Air and on the Web
Saturday’s 3 p.m. matchup at the Convocation Center will stream live on ESPN+ with Karl Schoening (play-by-play), UTSA Hall-of-Famer Devin Brown (analyst) and Taylor Guajardo (reporter) on the broadcast call.
The radio broadcast will appear on Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket with Andy Everett (play-by-play) and Tim Carter covering the action. As always, 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
The Roadrunners are back at the Convocation Center after a heartbreaking barnburner at American Athletic Conference preseason favorite UAB, which came down to a dashed overtime opportunity on a blocked last-second three in the 81-78 loss. Despite the battles over the past two outings, the Roadrunners have dropped two straight against some of the toughest teams in the league on the heels of two consecutive conference victories.
Coming into Saturday at 8-10 and 4-2 in AAC play, the Roadrunners are still firing them off from deep and hitting the ground running at every opportunity. UTSA leads the AAC and ranks 34th nationally in three-pointers per game with a 9.8 per game average. Leading that charge, Damari Monsanto is 21st in the NCAA with an AAC-high 3.18 threes per game toward his 10.6 ppg average – Monsanto is third in the conference with a 40.3 shooting percentage beyond the arc. In pace of the game, the Roadrunners are 45th nationally in tempo and sixth in the country (second AAC only to UAB) in collecting fast break points, logging a 17.2 ppg clip in the stat.
The steady scoring leader, Primo Spears is tied for seventh nationally and second in the conference with a 21.1 ppg average on 41.9 percent shooting, going beyond the 20-point border in 11 games this season. Spears also leads the team in assists per game with a 3.9 average and team-high total of 71 dimes. Marcus Millender adds in 3.2 apg of his own, in addition to 11.9 ppg on 40.3 percent shooting. Averaging 11.3 ppg on the year, Raekwon Horton has averaged 13.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.8 apg and 2.0 spg in AAC play. UTSA’s leader on the boards and defending the circle, Jonnivius Smith grabs 7.8 rpg on the year to rank third in the AAC, while registering 1.5 blocks per outing.
About the Series
The Roadrunners and Owls saw too much of each other last season, with three matchups in a 23-day span, going from Philadelphia to San Antonio and then Fort Worth, in the opening round of the AAC Championships. All three contests proved to be Roadrunner losses, the last as a 64-61 setback at Dickies Arena on March 13. Last year being the inaugural matchups between the programs, the series is 3-0 in Temple’s favor and Owls head coach Adam Fisher is 3-0 against UTSA. UTSA head coach Austin Claunch will face Temple for the first time on Saturday.
About the Temple Owls
The Owls spent the majority of last season at the bottom of the conference, but shocked everyone with their drive to the AAC Championship game where they lost to UAB for the title. Resurged this season by offseason personnel additions, Temple has made their place near the top of the conference standings, tied for fourth just one victory out of a first-place tie. They’ve notched some big wins recently, but both came at home, over 18th-ranked Memphis and Tulane this month, and are coming to San Antonio at 12-7 with a 4-2 mark in AAC play.
Temple is among the top scoring teams in the AAC, third at 78.8 ppg, while holding opponents to 74.8 ppg. As a team, they shoot 47 percent from the field and though they are third in the league with a 36.3 percent from distance, threes are not their forte. Temple is 10th in the AAC at 9.37 ppg off the fast break and they don’t force many turnovers (11.5), but they also protect the ball with an AAC-fourth 11.2 turnovers allowed. The Owls do get to the line a lot with a league-leading 18.7 free throws per game, while shooting just 72.4 percent as a team.
NBA legacy point guard Jamal Mashburn Jr. matches Spears’ numbers and leads the Owls since transferring from New Mexico, putting up 21.1 ppg, while nearly doubling the attempts of the next-highest scorer, Zion Stanford. Mashburn shoots 42.3 percent from the floor and 41.9 percent from three as the Owls’ most active long-range shooter. He’s also among the Owls’ leaders in assists with 2.0 apg. Stanford averages 11.0 ppg on 47.6 percent shooting, while Quante Berry has 10.6 ppg – the pair combine for 4.1 assists per game. While Berry grabs 4.9 rpg off the glass, Steve Settle III leads the Owls with 6.2 rpg along with his 10.5 ppg.
Up Next
The Roadrunners have back-to-back dates away from San Antonio, traveling to the Sunshine State for a Jan. 29 matchup at Florida Atlantic, then returning to Texas for the North Texas rematch on Feb. 1 in Denton.
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