Chronicowls '12 Temple-Maryland

Twice as many assists as turnovers. That’ll win most basketball games. As it did, yesterday MORNING, for the Cherry and White.  Temple’s starting three guards,  Juan Fernandez, Ramone Moore, and Khalif Wyatt,  produced 54 points, 13 assists, and but 5 giveaways.  And substitute guard Aaron brown contributed 12 points and a team-leading 8 rebounds in 26 minutes of play. An impressive Parliament of Owls.  Graduate student Michael Eric  returned to action after a 13-game absence due to a fractured right patella.

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A packed but not quite full Palestra, although the attendance was announced as a sellout of 8722. Doubtless, more than a few couldn’t make the game because of “wintry mix” driving conditions. Nonetheless, plenty of spirit and energy in the hoops cathedral, as the Maryland faithful “travel well”, and brought at least several thousand supporters to the Penn campus venue. So it seemed more like a Big Five contest, as each cheering section tried to outdo the other. Only rollouts were absent.

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A little more than 5 minutes remain in the game.  In the five minutes just elapsed, the Terrapins had cut a 10-point Temple lead to one. In the next 90 SECONDS, first Wyatt, then Moore, and then Fernandez each make unlikely three point shots.  I Believe We Have Won broke out with about one minute remaining.

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It was an extraordinary day for Philadelphia college basketball, and its fans. For starters, one could have begun  at 11am with the Temple-Maryland tipoff, enjoyed lunch following the game (Slainte, at 30^th and Market, was a good choice yesterday), walked several blocks to the Daskalakis Athletic Center to join 2500 other fans to watch Drexel play Northeastern (the Dragons won), then return to the Palestra to join another sellout crowd to watch Penn edge St. Joe’s in a Big Five classic.  If an Explorers fan, one could have gone to the Gola Arena (instead of the Daskalakis Center)  to see LaSalle play Rhode Island. All in all, five city teams won (Villanova played at Madison Square Garden where they defeated St. John’s) and more than 20,000 fans were in attendance at college basketball games across the city and throughout the day .  Reuben Frank, CSNPhilly columnist,  has an interesting recap of the day (read here ).

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Amazing series of ramps now connect part of the Penn campus. It is now possible to walk from the River Field athletic complex to the Palestra without setting foot on a Philadelphia street.

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Oddsmakers had the Owls favored by NINE over their ACC opponent.  Surprised me (after all, Maryland entered the game with a record (12-5) identical to Temple’s), but the forecasters had obviously done their research, as the Owls beat the spread. While the game was tight throughout, Temple trailed for less than a minute, and led the entire second half.

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The Diamond Gems were in fine form yesterday. The halftime entertainment featured a young man in a Temple teeshirt performing one  balancing act after another (using his chin) , starting with a chair and concluding with a 10-foot stepladder. You had to be there!

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Temple now stands at #19 in the RPI rankings.  St. Joe’s, their next opponent at the Liacouras Center, this Saturday at 4pm, holds the 60^th place in the RPI.  Before then, a difficult game on the road, against Charlotte, this Wednesday evening.  Only radio coverage(1210 AM WPHT) of the game.

A Look Back to When Lavoy Allen was Taking Shots

With Charlotte coming to the Liacouras Center this Wednesday, let's take a look back to a Lavoy Allen breakout game...

February 27, 2008
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Former coach Chaney often said defense wins games, and that's it's OK to win ugly.  The Owls reverted to Chaney-ball last night, with a stifling defense, to top Charlotte 75-61.

Dionte Christmas, who we know by his scoring prowess, played his best defense of the year, holding Charlotte's leading scorer, and one of the best players in the conference, to just three points.  Christmas was also the Owls leading scorer. In un-Chaney like fashion, the Owls shot very well, 51% from the field, 53% from three-point distance, and 82% from the foul line. Just for comparison, Charlotte shot 31% from the field.

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The Owls win last night was ugly because they were sloppy - 16 turnovers.  It would better put that Tyndale was sloppy, he had almost as many turnovers (6) as points (9).  It speaks volumes of how far this team has progressed when Temple can produce a 13-point win over a solid team on a night when Tyndale doesn't reach double figures.

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Freshman Lavoy Allen (Coach Dunphy's top recruit for this season) had one of his best games of the year, 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks. He's been reluctant to shoot this year (Nelson says it takes most of freshman year to build confidence), but not last night, Allen took more shots (12) than anyone else (including Christmas) on the Temple squad.

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The announced  attendance was just over 4000. No beer lines, suffice it to say.  The 4000 figure must be tickets sold, most of us there last night figured there couldn't have been more than 3000 in the crowd.

Either way, rather paltry  following - I guess it's going to take at least another year for the fans who left during the down years to return.  That includes the student body, whose section last night was at best two-thirds full.  But the pep band was particularly spirited last night, as were the performances from the Diamond Gems. The Gems' appearances were improved by the disappearance (we hope for good) of those hideous tan (I think they're more like flesh-colored)  shoes that make them look like they're dancing in bare feet.

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The win last night was the 15th  for the Owls this season. I'll admit that I was wrong. In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned that Temple would do well to win 10 games this season, and that 15 would be a stretch.

Never would I have expected that the Owls would be playing at this point of the season not only for a winning record but a BYE into the A10 tournament.

Last night's win means that Temple remains tied for third place in the A10.  The top four finishers earn a bye into the tournament, meaning that three wins, rather than four, in the conference tournament (to be held in Atlantic City, by the way , we should consider a  road trip) will produce a conference tournament championship, and most importantly, an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.

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In the all-important RPI ratings , Temple now sits at 81. Considering that they were hovering around 150 at the beginning of the season, I'd say there's been considerable progress. Next opponent, St. Joe's, is now at 44, and also one of the teams ahead of Temple in the A10 standings. Next stop, Palestra, Sunday night, to be part of a sellout crowd.

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None of the readers of  Chronicowls was of assistance in my request to learn the origins of Charlotte's nickname, so here you are...

The nickname, the 49ers, was chosen in recognition of the importance of the year 1949 in the history of the University. UNC Charlotte, which began as an off-cam pus center of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, would have died in 1949 had Bonnie Cone and her supporters not convinced the N.C. Legislature that Charlotte needed a permanent college. Charlotte College was established that year. Additionally, the campus is located on N.C. Highway 49, and Charlotte has a rich gold mining history -- the term "49ers" symbolizes gold mining. A bronze statue of the 49ers Gold Miner sits in front of the Reese Administration building on campus. The statue recalls the region's history as a gold mining center and symbolizes the pioneering spirit and determination that has led to UNC Charlotte's dramatic growth.

Nick, good guess about  49 having to do with the latitude.  At least you proffered a theory.

Chronicowls '11, Post 6 (Temple-St. Bonaventure)

Lots of positives. First half may have been the finest Temple has played this season. Made better than 60% of shots from the field. Made 7 three-pointers, out of 12 attempted. And made every foul shot. Twice as many assists (18) as turnovers (9). Ramone Moore scored 13 points in the closing five minutes of the first half. -----------------------
St. Bonaventure never had the lead. At one point around the middle of the first half, Temple's lead had been cut to one, 20-19. Temple's defense limited the Bonnies to one basket over the next six minutes, the Bonnies, The Owls then went one of their characteristic runs, outscoring the Bonnies 29-9 to take a 21-point lead at intermission.Khalif Wyatt had an outstanding game. 15 points, six assists, and but one turnover. We've become familiar with his love for shooting, last night he showed the small gathering at the Liacouras Center that he has playmaking skills as well. Five players scored in double figures. Balanced scoring once again. It's a team strength.
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When the Owls score 72 points, every ticket-holder wins a taco from Qdoba. This game was the fourth this season that the fans had earned a taco. The milestone was reached earliest in last night's game, as with 12 minutes remaining, the Owls scored their 72nd point of the evening. Those who left early because the outcome had been determined didn't miss much.The reserves had playing time, and made much of it (at least on defense). St. Bonaventure did not record a basket over the final 7 minutes of the game. Not that the Owls were doing much better, registering just one field goal in that span.
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3213 fans in attendance last night. Is there another top 25 team that draws as poorly? I just don't understand the apathy. Philadelphia, after all, is supposed to be a college basketball town. Last night was a busy night for the Big Five schools. All were in action, with St. Joe's the only school playing out of town. The Penn-LaSalle matchup at Gola Arena attracted fewer than 2000 fans. Villanova drew more than 13,000 to its game at the Wells Fargo Center.
The small crowd meant short or no lines. At the concession stands, rest rooms, and exiting the parking garage.Some consolation.
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Halfway through the season. 12-3 mark. Losses to a #9 ranked team (at Villanova) , to Texas A&M (that loss doesn't look so bad now, as Texas A&M has won 12 in a row and is ranked in the top 20) and California (that remains a bad loss). One game remaining against a ranked team (Duke). And wins against two currently ranked teams - Georgetown and Georgia. Defense has been key to Temple's success. Opponents have averaged fewer than 60 points per game, ranking Temple among the top 25 among the nation's 300 plus Division 1 schools in that category. After averaging a double-double last year (first Temple player in 40 years to do so), Lavoy Allen has had but two games thus far in which he has recorded a double-double. Fans expected more. And the Owls three-point shooting has been erratic. Last night's nine three-pointers was their second highest of the season, and it was only the fourth game they made more than five. But to keep proper perspective, 12 wins out of 15, against a difficult schedule, is more than respectable. It's impressive.
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The Comcast network will be televising next Temple game, noon on Saturday, from Pittsburgh, where the Owls will be headed for a game against Duquesne. Temple has a single game scheduled at the Palestra this season. It's January 29, against St. Joe's. The Hawks are the home team. What's unusual is morning tip-off (11am). Don't recall one of those before. Temple did have a midnight game several years back, against Villanova, at the Liacouras Center.
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The A-10 is weak this year. In the RPI rankings, Xavier is the only school besides Temple in the top 50. Temple sits today at number 20. In fact, Temple has but 6 games left against schools that are presently in the top 100 of the RPI rankings.