GAME NOTES: The top two squads in the American Athletic Conference standings are set to square off in a key showdown Wednesday night at Devlin Fieldhouse, as the Tulane Green Wave host the Temple Owls.

Temple has won five in a row and seven of its last eight games overall. The Owls are off to a 2-0 start in league play after beating defending national champion Connecticut on the road on New Year's Eve (57-53) and then following that up with an 84-78 triumph over UCF this past Sunday. The Owls also beat 12th-ranked Kansas by a 25-point margin on Dec. 22.

Tulane has been fairly streaky to this point. The Green Wave rebounded from a season-opening loss to Wake Forest by winning nine straight. They lost their next two games but have since won their last two; a 67-59 decision over East Carolina on New Year's Eve and a 74-66 triumph over Memphis on Saturday to open AAC play 2-0. Both of those wins came on the road.

The all-time series between these two teams is tied, 2-2. This marks the first head-to-head meeting since 1996.

The Owls have proven capable of winning in a number of different fashions. Their road win over UConn, for example, was a defensive battle played at a slower tempo. More recently, they engaged UCF in a proverbial track meet and hung 84 points on the board.

Junior forward Jaylen Bond (7.9 ppg, 8.0 rpg) had a career-high 21 points and 14 rebounds against the Knights, and senior guard Will Cummings (14.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 4.2 apg) shared game-high scoring honors with 21 points to go along with three steals. Bond's double-double was his second in the last three games. Josh Brown (7.4 ppg) and Quenton DeCosey (14.1 ppg) rounded out the team's double-digit scorers with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Senior guard Jesse Morgan, a transfer from UMass, shot just 2-of-10 from the floor and finished with only five points. Still, he has averaged 14.0 points in the five games since becoming eligible.

The Green Wave currently lead the AAC in scoring (70.3 ppg) and rank second in field-goal percentage (.463). While they lack a single elite scoring threat, they do boast three double-digit scorers on the season. Sophomore guard Jonathan Stark leads the way with 13.2 ppg, followed by Louis Dabney (12.2 ppg) and Payton Henson (11.1 ppg). That trio has combined to shoot a healthy 38.3 percent from 3-point range (62-of-1623).

On Saturday, Stark poured in a season-high 24 points to help Tulane snap a 22- game losing streak to Memphis that dated back to 2000. Stark helped seal the victory with a pair of 3-pointers in the final four minutes, the first of which sparked a 15-1 run. The Green Wave forced 16 turnovers for the game and committed only eight, as they held a key 24-9 edge in points off turnovers.

This matchup pits Tulane's league-best offense against a Temple squad that is holding foes to 62.1 ppg, down significantly from 78.1 ppg allowed last season. A win here could put the Owls into the Top-25 for the first time since the end of the 2012 season, although it certainly won't come easy on Tulane's home floor.