GAME NOTES: A pair of American Athletic Conference teams looking to get back on track meet Saturday when the Cincinnati Bearcats host the Temple Owls at Fifth Third Arena.

Cincinnati has won the last three meetings and leads the overall series 16-6, but both programs are coming off back-to-back losses over the past week.

On Thursday, Cincinnati turned the ball over 20 times and fell to Memphis by the score of 63-50. Last weekend, the Bearcats again struggled offensively and loss at Connecticut.

Against Memphis, Troy Caupain led the Bearcats with 14 points. Deshaun Morman tied a career-high with 11 points, and Gary Clark had seven points and 10 rebounds.

Cincinnati is 11-4 this season with a 2-2 mark in the AAC, and the Bearcats have made it this far despite the worst scoring offense statistically in the conference. Cincinnati is averaging just 61.7 ppg on 43.3 percent shooting from the floor. That's where the team's strong defense comes into play. The Bearcats own the league's best scoring defense, allowing just 55.2 ppg to opponents through 16 games. Caupain tops the squad in scoring at 9.8 ppg, while Octavius Ellis is putting up 9.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.

For the second straight game the Owls let a second-half lead slip away, as SMU stole a 60-55 victory in Philadelphia on Wednesday. Temple led by as many as 13 but allowed the Mustangs to shoot 52 percent from the field in the second half.

Jesse Morgan tallied 15 points to pace Temple, while Quenton DeCosey added 13 points. Devin Coleman chipped in with 10 points in the loss, which came four days after the Owls squandered a double-digit lead in similar ways against Tulsa. They had won six in a row going into the game.

Starting point guard Will Cummings played through an ankle injury in the loss to SMU but only scored one point in 27 minutes. The loss dropped Temple to 12-6 overall and right in the middle of the AAC pack at 3-2.

While its offense can be erratic, Temple has consistently locked down on the defensive end to the tune of 61.7 ppg allowed on only 38.6 percent shooting. Its offense is mustering just 64.7 ppg, led by DeCosey's 13.9 ppg. Cummings and Morgan are both just under 13 ppg, while Jaylen Bond, who battled foul trouble against SMU, is putting up 8.5 points per game.

Cincinnati is 27-2 at Fifth Third Arena since the start of last season, while Temple is 2-0 on the road against AAC opponents this season. A low-scoring game is a definite, but which team will play strong down the stretch is a mystery. The Owls have a little more firepower, so they get the edge.