Chronicowls '12 Temple-Duquesne

A standout shooting performance overcame a slow start to lead the Cherry and White hoopsters to their 10th consecutive victory, and 21st of the season. The Owls took two-and-a-half minutes to score their first basket, and  five minutes into the game the score was tied at 4-4. In the next ten minutes, the Owls scored 30 points, to take a decisive 34-22 lead. Juan Fernandez contributed 14 points during that span, 20 points overall, and logged 6 assists with but one turnover for the game. Temple shot 57% from the field, 52% from beyond the three-point arc, and 80% from the free throw stripe.
------------------------
Temple fans must prefer games on Saturday afternoon  over Saturday night. Yesterday's crowd of nearly 10,000 was greater than the crowd last Saturday night for the Xavier game. Hooter's Birthday Party couldn't have been the draw. There's a tradition that should be retired. Along with the "special" Simon Says game during half-time that involves some twenty mascots (they're not just team mascots any longer, now there are appearances by product mascots, like the J&J soft pretzel)
------------------------
Khalif Wyatt has perfected a move to the basket that looks awkward to me yet is very effective (Wyatt led all Temple scorers in this game, and is second for the season). Just this past week did a knowledgeable basketball fan inform me that Wyatt's move has a name (the Eurostep), it was introduced to the NBA by Manu Ginobli, and it has been adopted by several NBA stars, among them Dwayne Wade. Let the New York Times describe it:

 "Players in the NBA. now often showcase the Eurostep, a move in which a player drives past a defender by stepping one way and then quickly taking a big lateral step in the other direction. The move is a crafty way to distribute the two steps allocated to a player after he stops dribbling, and it goes right to the edge of being a traveling violation."      

All along I'm thinking that Wyatt's move is awkward, and actually he's being crafty. Keep it up, Khalif.
------------------------
There have many keys to Temple's success this season. Unquestionably, one of them has been the Owls' assist-to-turnover ratio. Their ratio of 1.27 places them 22nd in the nation (among 343 schools). Yesterday's game was their sixth of the season in which the Owls had at least 20 assists. Ramone Moore scored just three points, but he had a career-high 8 assists. Fernandez is now 7th in assists on the all-time Temple list.
------------------------
Temple is now ranked (for the first time this season) in the Top 25 poll, and stands at #16 in the all-important RPI rankings. And the Owls are 10-3 against top 100 teams.Two huge games on the road this week, against intracity rivals and top 100 teams LaSalle and St. Joe's. I expect both to be sellouts. FINAL home game, leap night, against UMass.
------------------------
Maxi's, right in the hear of Temple's campus, was the pre-game meeting spot. One of the few places left where one can find a juke box. And it has among its selections George Thorogood's 1977 recording of the classic "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer".
-----------------------
Temple scarves are everywhere, including the shoulders of Shellie Straub, former nationally ranked squash player, who was a Temple fan Saturday (and we hope from hereon) and joined the gathering at Maxi's.

Chronicowls '12 Temple-Xavier

The Cherry Crusade were in full throat and in white last night, for ESPN's national telecast of the Temple-Xavier Atlantic 10 showdown. As you might surmise, a "whiteout" was called for the game, and 8000 white shirts with the motto "I Believe" were placed on the seats before last night's game.

And here they are, on their feet, at the end of an outstanding Temple hoops performance, celebrating, before a national viewing audience, by chanting the now-familiar refrain of  I Believe That We Have Won.

For a recap of the game, I'll let Chronicowls commenter Scott Matlack describe what unfolded:

"Temple got off to a hot start and never looked back.  They were up 17 - 5 early and by 20 points for most of the game.  Temple shot 7 -11 from three-point land in the first half to dust Xavier.  Ramone Moore had 30 points and could have had 40 if they weren't trying to burn the clock in the second half."
--------------
Disappointing that the game was not a sellout. Let's blame it on the weather. And the fact that there were four other Division 1 college basketball games in Philly yesterday, attended by nearly than 25,000 fans, including the Temple crowd. Nonetheless, the atmosphere was electric inside the Liacouras Center.
-------------
Michael Eric had a big game, registering a double-double that included 16 rebounds. Temple used a 7-minute Xavier scoring drought in the first half to go on a 16-0 run. And T.J. DiLeo played a solid game off the bench.
-------------
Last night's game was the start of a challenging stretch of games to finish the regular season, as each of Temple's next five opponents has a winning record. Next home game is Saturday, against Duquesne, tipping off at 2pm.

Chronicowls '12 Temple-GW I CAN'T Believe That We Have Won

I CAN’T Believe That We Have Won!  Down by 10 points with five minutes remaining in the game, the Cherry and White scored 22 points in those final five minutes to pull off an astounding come-from-behind win against GW.

-----------

The Owls were favored by 15 points.  With just over three minutes played in the second half, the scoreboard read 49-34. GW IN THE LEAD.  Khalif Wyatt and Ramone Moore  took over from there,  scoring 34 of the Owls’ 45 points, including the final 14, to lead their team to victory.

------------

A paltry crowd of just over 4000.  Granted, GW came into the game with a losing record, but where were the Temple fans, including the students, whose Cherry Crusade section was about half-full.  The Pep Band was in full force, and did their best to keep the fans’ spirits up during a discouraging first-half performance by the home side.

------------

Temple scarves could be seen throughout the stands.  Here, a scarf is presented to  Temple alum Jim Howat, former Temple swim team captain who coached numerous championship soccer and swim  teams at Roxborough High (disclosure: this blogger is an alumnus of Roxborough High, Temple University, and George Washington University).

-------------

The Owls (fast approaching another 20-win season) now stand at #20 in the RPI ratings, and will host #62 Xavier in a rare Saturday night game at the Liacouras Center. A capacity crowd, and a WhiteOut, are expected.

---------------

Post-game celebration was held at the Rose Tatoo.  Recommended. Plenty of menu selections, fine food, attentive service, and reasonable prices.

Happy Birthday, Lavoy

Chronicowls has closely followed Lavoy Allen during his four very productive years at Temple (see posts here and here). So we're particularly gratified to see him doing so well for our local pro hoops team. Got his first start in the NBA yesterday (on his birthday!).  And as blog contributor Scott Matlack commented after Lavoy's breakout pro game against the mighty Bulls, "Maybe I'm just caught up in the Sixers success early in the season or maybe I'm just rooting hard for Lavoy...   he had 7 rebounds and 15 points. Both huge for the Sixers (in their win against Chicago)."

Congratulations, Lavoy, on a week of milestones!

Chronicowls '12 Temple-Fordham

GUEST POST FROM TALL PHIL RE. 2/1/12 GAME

’Twas an average sports night in a world-class sports mecca as the Owls mashed the Rams 78-60 while Drexel, St. Joe’s, LaSalle and “Your Sixers” all comfortably dictated, all on the very day that “I Accept All the Blame” Reid granted “Juan More Time” Castillo a stay of execution. So, get this, the Sixers at a radiant 16-6 take back seat to the Owls at 16-5.

This a great city or what?

The Owls own the Rams: five straight, 26 of the last 30, a perfect .750 over recorded history with 39 wins. You wouldn’t have known it through the first eight minutes of this one, though, as only hot-shooting Khalif Wyatt kept his stone cold mates in a game they would, when they came to their senses, last trail by 21-18.

Score at the break: 35-27. Half #1 was Wyatt’s, featuring 16 of his 24. Half #2 belonged to Ramon Moore, who knocked down a career high six treys and a game high 25, two more than Fordham ace Brian Smith. Rahlir H-J had 10. In the “go figure” department, Temple’s 15 turnovers were three more than Fordham’s, and their four steals one less. A still-recouping Michael Eric, in a reserve role yet, blocked five, a career-high tie. And we waited stoically for T.J. DiLeo to finish passing and start shooting, en route to a hard-earned three-point night.

So what do we know re. the 2011-2012 Temple Owls? They’re batting .762 after a season-high five game winning streak. They’re 8-1 at home, where five of their remaining nine regular season games will spontaneously combust. They play Fordham yet again, away, in the season clincher. They travel no further than Kingston, RI, where they play Fri. Only Xavier (15-7 after their win last night) would appear to loom large. If they stay-play within themselves, these Owls could run not just (up and down) the floor, but perhaps the proverbial table.

Non-basketball notes: One, the first 500 Temple students last eve received RecycleMania t-shirts. Two, hmmmm, y’think there were that many students there? Three, the attendance was 4,080—if you count the Diamond Gems and the Dribbling Dunkin' Donut Coffee Cups and the trombonists and the Super Inflectioned PA Meister, 73 times each. Four, speaking of which, how to ’splain the infernal rejoinder following every other whistle, “There’s a time out (voice up, up, away) …on the floor (voice, well, on the floor).” Okay, so just where else do timeouts routinely take place? Five, this group ate first at McCrossens Tavern on 20^th just below Spring Garden, where waiting, for salads not for Godot, was the core activity, and stars don’t come easily; and drank last at Jack’s Firehouse, 2130 Fairmount, a fine place to savor victory and consider the day.