GAME NOTES: A couple of teams coming off stunning upsets clash at the Scottrade Center today, as the Temple Owls tussle with the Saint Louis Billikens in Atlantic 10 Conference play. On Wednesday, Temple notched its biggest win of the season, upsetting 20th-ranked Xavier by a convincing 78-59 score. It was the program's first win over a Top 25 team since knocking off sixth-ranked George Washington, 68-53, in the 2006 A-10 Tournament quarterfinals. The victory also brought the Owls' three-game slide to an end and in the process improved them to 7-8 overall and 1-1 in conference play. As for SLU, it is also coming off its most noticeable victory of the season, a 68-61 upset of 23rd- ranked Rhode Island on Thursday. The triumph was the Billikens' first over a Top 25 opponent since upending 23rd-ranked Memphis, 72-61, in 2004. With the win, SLU saw its brief two-game slide come to a close, as it improved to 10-7 overall and 1-2 in A-10 play. The Billikens and Owls have met on the hardwood just two times previously, with each program winning one of those encounters.

The Owls are paced by the dynamic duo of Dionte Christmas and Mark Tyndale, who are contributing to more than half of the team's scoring average of 70.4 ppg. Christmas leads the tandem and the team in both scoring (20.7 ppg) and rebounding (6.7 rpg) and he is also shooting 39.5 percent from three-point range. Tyndale ranks second with 15.8 ppg and 6.1 rpg and he is also dishing out a team-best 3.1 apg. In the club's last game, Christmas poured in 23 points and grabbed six caroms to lead Temple in the upset of Xavier. Christmas nailed 4-of-7 three-pointers in the contest, and he also became the 44th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau for his career. Tyndale also got involved, pouring in 22 points, grabbing seven boards and dishing out seven assists. Temple shot a solid 50.9 percent from the field in the contest and that includes a 13-of-27 effort from downtown.

The Billikens are one of the top defensive teams in the A-10, as they are holding their opponents to just 58.2 ppg. SLU though, has sacrificed some offense for its defense, as it is scoring just 57.8 ppg. Kevin Lisch leads the squad in scoring at 12.9 ppg and his 18 steals are also a team-high. Tommie Liddell III is hot on his trail with 12.1 ppg and he is making good on 36.7 percent of his attempts from long range. In the team's most recent outing, Liddell III tallied 22 points and grabbed six boards to pace the Billikens in a victory over Rhode Island. SLU knocked down 54.5 percent of its field goal attempts in the game, while holding Rhode Island to a lackluster 34.3 percent shooting performance from the floor.

Both teams are coming off big wins, so confidence is high for each program right now. Behind the one-two punch of Christmas and Tyndale, look for the Owls to emerge with the victory on the road today.