Senior co-captain Mark Tyndale will grace the Liacouras Center floor for the final time in an Owl uniform as will fellow co-captain Chris Clark and reserve forward Orlando Miller. Senior managers Lauren Adee, Olumide Adeyemo and Daniel Haubert will also be honored for their service to the program.
Tyndale will go down as one of the most versatile players in the program's 114 year history of the program. The 6-5 guard ranks ninth in the A-10 in scoring (16.2 ppg.), eighth in rebounding (6.8 rpg.) and fifth in assists (4.0 apg.). If he continues this pace he will become the first player in A-10 history to end a season in the top 10 in the conference in scoring and rebounding and top five in assists.
Clark, a candidate for A-10 Most Improved Player honors, leads the Owls in three-point shooting (.417) and ranks 11th in the conference. The 5-8 guard has averaged 9.4 points in conference games only, ranking third on the team. Miller, a walk-on, has played in three games in this his third season with the Owls.
Junior Dionte Christmas continues to pace the Cherry and White with a 19.8 scoring average. Freshman Lavoy Allen and sophomore Ryan Brooks average 8.4 points per game for second-year head coach Fran Dunphy's squad.
Duquesne, one of the surprise teams in the Atlantic 10, owns a 16-11 record, including a 6-8 league mark, under second-year head coach Ron Everhardt. Junior Shawn James, a transfer from Northeastern, leads the Dukes in scoring (13.2 ppg.) and the A-10 in blocked shots (4.08 bpg.). Another transfer, junior guard Kojo Mensah (Siena), averages 12.5 points per game while grad student Kieron Achara (10.5 ppg.) also tops double figures in scoring.
The Owls (16-12, 9-5) lead the series, 35-13, and are undefeated against the Dukes at the Liacouras Center (5-0). The last Duke win at Temple came on January 30, 1995, a 62-55 win at McGonigle Hall.