When Monmouth takes the court at CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton tonight (6 p.m.), the atmosphere won’t be as chaotic as it was Monday night at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan.

And while Temple making the trip across the river provides a challenging foe, it will be a much better measuring stick to see exactly where the Hawks are than Michigan State was in the season oepner.

It’s the first game of the Jersey Jam doubleheader, with Princeton taking on Duquesne in the nightcap at 8:30.

Both games will be streamed on JerseyJam.net, while the audio broadcast of the Monmouth-Temple game available at Monmouth Digital Network, with Matt Harmon handling the play-by-play along with analyst Steve Bazaz.

The Hawks (0-1) look to build on an 81-57 loss to the Spartans, the first test for a restructured rotation that currently features four new starters, and five reserves who either didn’t play at Monmouth last season, or didn’t play college basketball at all.

More: Monmouth basketball falls to Michigan State, 81-57: Takeaways as young Hawks show promise

Monmouth is expected to be without 6-9 redshirt sophomore Jaret Valencia, a Preseason All-CAA second teamer recovering from a sports hernia. It’s unclear when Valencia will return to the court. It’s likely 6-6 sophomore Cornelius “Boog” Robinson Jr. will start in his place, after the Camden High School product grabbed 10 rebounds against Michigan State.

Temple was an 81-70 winner in its season-opener against Sacred Heart, picked to finish last in its first season in the MAAC, moving from the NEC.

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Monmouth will be charged with containing 6-2 Jamal Mashburn Jr., who previously played at Minnesota and New Mexico, and had 26 points in the opener. Expect 6-5 point guard Madison Durr, the Citadel transfer who scored 12 points in his Monmouth debut, or 6-5 Jack Collins to get the assignment on Mashburn.

Temple will have to contain Monmouth’s Abdi Bashir Jr., the 6-7 sophomore sharpshooter who scored 20 points in the opener.

Here are three keys for Monmouth in Friday night’s clash with Temple:

1. Settle down

Taking the court at Michigan State can only help Monmouth’s newly configured lineup in its second game. They went down 17-2 in the opener and looked shaky early, before gaining some traction and starting to play their game. While they climbed back, getting within six points in the second half, they were in foul trouble and expended a ton of energy rallying.

If Monmouth can start fast, get running and ramp up the defensive pressure, they’ve got a chance to make this a good game.

2. Battle inside

It was tough to make any judgements against Michigan State’s massive frontcourt, with Monmouth getting outrebounded 48-31 in the opener, including 15 offensive rebounds for the Spartans that resulted in 13 second chance points. But the center position remains an area of concern.

Chris Morgan, the 6-9 North Texas transfer who started at center, picked up two fouls in less than three minutes. Dok Muordar, the 7-0 Cleveland State transfer, then came on for three minutes, and didn’t return until playing another minute late in the second half. And 6-9 Georgia Tech transfer Jordan Meka, nursing a sore knee, played 24 minutes, grabbing two rebounds, with the trio failing to score a point.

Temple’s not nearly as big or as deep, but 6-10 redshirt senior Steve Settle III scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds against Sacred Heart, while Babatunde Durodola, a 6-8 freshman forward, started and played 17 minutes.

Even when Valencia returns to the lineup, Monmouth needs some production from the pivot.

3. Rebound performance

It’s not a stretch to say that as Jack Collins goes, so goes Monmouth. He’s been a starter since he showed up on campus, is in his second season as a captain, and serves as a catalyst at the defensive end. And after struggling against Michigan State, missing all 10 shots from the floor, a bounce-back game against Temple will go a long way toward giving Monmouth a chance.

Valencia’s absence puts more pressure on Collins at both ends of the floor. But Collins has proven he can play against anyone, scoring 17 in a win at West Virginia, missing a double-double by a rebound against Seton Hall and scoring 14 points at Oklahoma.

Check back later Friday night at app.com for complete coverage of the Monmouth-Temple game, as well as the Princeton-Duquesne clash.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Monmouth NJ basketball vs Temple: 3 keys for Hawks in Trenton showdown