Check out Dionte "D-Nice" Christmas and the Temple owls take on the vols tomorrow @ Noon on ESPN

Temple plays host to #8/8 Tennessee Saturday in a nationally-televised contest (ESPN, Noon). The Volunteers (6-1) will be just the sixth Top 10 team to play at the Liacouras Center since the building opened on December 9, 1997. The owls own a 2-3 record against Top 10 foes in the arena with the last meeting being a 67-64 setback to #5 Wake Forest on December 13, 2004. Temple will also be collecting canned goods at the game in support of Philabundance.

The Owls (4-3), fresh off a 65-59 win at Penn State, boast one of the nation's top players in All-America candidate Dionte Christmas. The 6-5 senior guard, who leads the team and ranks second in the Atlantic 10 Conference with a 19.0 scoring average. Limited to his lowest output (2 pts) at Penn State since his freshman season, Christmas is looking to become the first player in A-10 history to win three consecutive league scoring titles.

Third-year head coach Fran Dunphy has surrounded his star with a strong supporting cast led by sophomore forward Lavoy Allen and junior guard Ryan Brooks. Allen, who is playing with a fractured left thumb, averages 10.0 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds while Brooks, the Owls' top perimeter defender, is second on the team with a 13.1 scoring average.
Senior Sergio Olmos (10.7 ppg.,.571 fg%) and Semaj Inge (9.9 ppg., 32 assists) round out a balanced starting five. Junior guard Luis Guzman (2.9 ppg., 31 assists) and freshman guard Ramone Moore (7.3 ppg.) provide depth off the bench.

Junior Tyler Smith (17.4 ppg., 5.9 rpg.) leads the high-octane Tennessee offense that averages 87.1 points per game. A Wooden Award candidate, the 6-7 forward became the first player in the 100-year history of UT basketball to record a triple-double, accomplishing the feat with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the team's last game, an 87-69 win over UNC-Asheville.
Head coach Bruce Pearl's squad sports four double-figure scorers in junior forward J.P. Prince (11.3 ppg.), freshman forward Cameron Tatum (10.7 ppg.) and junior forward Wayne Chism (10.0 ppg,). Junior guard Bobby Maze (8.4 ppg., 5.1 apg.) runs the Vols offense.

Tennessee leads the all-time series, 3-2, winning 80-63 in the 2007-08 season opener in Knoxville (Nov. 19). The previous meeting was a pre-shot clock, 11-6 Volunteer win, also in Knoxville, on Dec. 15, 1973.