There hasn't been a home game for more than two weeks, so no posts in that time. But I thought I'd try something different. The Owls will be in New York City tomorrow night to match up against Fordham for their first game of 2011. Below is a post from February 2009, when Fordham was a much weaker side than now, and visited the Liacouras Center.
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The oddsmakers are brilliant. The spread for last night's Temple-Fordham game was 26. With just under 7 minutes remaining in the game, the Owls' lead was , yup, you guessed it, 26. And so, for the final 7 minutes, the lead went up and down, never more than 28, nor less than 22.
And, at the end, after Juan Fernandez scored his first points of the game, the Owls beat the spread. The oddsmakers should be our weather forecasters, and the weather forecasters should be our oddsmakers. The world would be a better place.
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For a betting person, 26 points is a lot to be conceding. I would have taken the points (as would have everyone polled in last night's informal survey in Section 114 of the Liacouras Center). With seven minutes remaining in the first half, the score was tied at 18. The Owls were sloppy and playing without any intensity. At that point, a win of any margin was in doubt. Fordham went the next six minutes without a basket, and the Owls led at half-time by 11.
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Intermission brought out two pairs of salsa dancers (among the best halftime entertainment this season) and a pitch from the head of Temple's Transplant Service to be an organ donor (no, February is not National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Month , it's April, but hey, it's not likely that there will be nearly 4000 fans in the Liacouras Center stands in April). Come to think of it, it's not likely that there would be 3800 fans in attendance for a Wednesday night game against a Fordham team with 20 losses already on their record - the official attendance was 3837, but there couldn't have been more than 2500 fans in the stands.
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The Owls' play was considerably better in the second half. All in all, a decent effort (15 assists to 10 turnovers), balanced scoring, good shooting (50% from the field, although Christmas hasn't regained his stroke) and tight defense.
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In my office, I have an Al Shrier bobblehead (Al Shrier has served the athletic program at Temple in a PR capacity for more than 50 years).
This Sunday, if I'm among the first 3000 fans (I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't 3000 fans in attendance) I'll add a Dionte Christmas bobblehead to my collection (hey, I know it's not Cole Hamels, but I have to give Temple credit for their Five Months of Christmas campaign, it's clever and well-executed.)
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We heard the winning 50-50 raffle ticket announced last night. Once again, we were advised by the student-athlete sellers, (it was the men's soccer team last night, so of course we were full supporters) to listen for the announcement at halftime. We know better. We listened carefully during the first time out AFTER intermission. No announcement. But our patience and attentiveness was rewarded during the next timeout. We missed the winning number by TWO.
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Temple's record now stands at 16 up, and 9 down. Five games left in the regular season. Before last night's game, Temple was 34th in the RPI rankings. That is their best ranking in more than 5 years. An at-large bid to March Madness remains a possibility, but not a distinct one. 22 wins (including the A10 tournament) is what it will take (I believe) to earn a bid, if the Owls do not win the Atlantic 10 conference tournament.
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For a 17-year old just out of high school and living in a foreign country, Juan Fernandez handles himself with lots of poise on the court. And off it as well, as we learned last night at the post-game spot (St. Stephen Green, 17th and Green) at which we had gathered for some gustatory delights. We had a good meal there recently, and although the service was at best uneven, we thought we would give it another chance (it's but five minutes from the Liacouras Center, and parking is relatively easy). Well, the food was good, but the kitchen was very slow in getting our orders out ( it seems to us that the kitchen gets overwhelmed easily), and our server not especially attentive. But she did notice our Temple apparel, and proudly noted to us that 1) she's a Temple student and 2) there's a Temple basketball player in our midst.
Sure enough, it was Juan Fernandez (with a soft drink in front of him), and on our way out, we stopped by his table to convey our wishes for a successful academic and playing career at Temple. He and his dining companions seemed very appreciative of our gesture. I'd like to think that years from now, he'll look back on his early days in the US (and at Temple) and recall the advice and encouragement he received from some fans after a game at a bar long forgotten.
A commentary by season ticket-holder Tim Cousounis on the fan experience of Temple University hoops
Showing posts with label Temple soccer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Temple soccer. Show all posts
20101201
Chronicowls, MMX, Post4
An exciting college basketball game at the Liacouras Center last night. Plenty of good shooting , especially by Temple in the second half, making more than two-thirds of their shots, and many tense moments. Juan Fernandez had a season (and career) high seven assists, Luis Guzman had a single turnover in 39 minutes of action while contributing 10 points, and four Owls (led by Ryan Brooks' 22 points) score in double figures. Temple's defense, which has been holding opponents to 55.5 points per game to rank third nationally, was good, but not exceptional, last night. But like every other game this season, the Owls held their opponent last night to a score below its season average.
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The oddsmakers , once again, were right on. Temple was favored by 5 points. Temple's winning margin was 5 points.
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The over-under for attendance last night was 7300 (no, you won't find the attendance over-under in the morning paper, it's available only in Chronicowls) . It was hard to tell from a glance around the arena whether the crowd last night was larger or smaller than 7300. Those who bet the under were winners - the crowd was announced as 6813 . Rather meager, considering that Temple is nationally ranked and Xavier was undefeated in conference play coming into the game. At least the student section was full of loud supporters. And the pep band was in full strength.
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In the most recent Chronicowls, I mentioned that there wasn't much energy flowing from the crowd or the court at last Saturday's game, and I added that even the Diamond Gems were absent from the event. Turned out their absence was for good cause. Over the weekend, the Temple University Diamond Gems Dance Team competed in its first ever national championship at the Universal Dance Association College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship, held at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida. Over 85 dance teams from across the nation competed in this event (its basketball equivalent would be the NCAA tournament). The Diamond Gems competed in the Division 1 Hip Hop Category and finished in FOURTH place.
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If you weren't at the Liacouras Center last night, your options to follow the game were limited. There was NO radio coverage, nor streaming video. But if you accessed
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A loyal Owl fan commented the other day that he would have found laughable the preseason prediction that Temple would win 16 of its first 19 games. I agreed. But put together good coaching, solid defense, crisp ball movement that leads to more assists than turnovers, and balanced scoring, and all of a sudden you have the makings of a 16-3 team.http://www.owlsports.com you could listen to a streaming audio version of the game featuring Harry Donahue doing play-by-play with John Baum providing game analysis. By the way, a group of us attending a Temple soccer game at Ambler Field this past fall were joined on the sideline by John Baum. John is an administrator in the Temple athletic department, a classy guy, and a fine representative of the athletic department and university.
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The oddsmakers , once again, were right on. Temple was favored by 5 points. Temple's winning margin was 5 points.
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The over-under for attendance last night was 7300 (no, you won't find the attendance over-under in the morning paper, it's available only in Chronicowls) . It was hard to tell from a glance around the arena whether the crowd last night was larger or smaller than 7300. Those who bet the under were winners - the crowd was announced as 6813 . Rather meager, considering that Temple is nationally ranked and Xavier was undefeated in conference play coming into the game. At least the student section was full of loud supporters. And the pep band was in full strength.
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In the most recent Chronicowls, I mentioned that there wasn't much energy flowing from the crowd or the court at last Saturday's game, and I added that even the Diamond Gems were absent from the event. Turned out their absence was for good cause. Over the weekend, the Temple University Diamond Gems Dance Team competed in its first ever national championship at the Universal Dance Association College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship, held at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida. Over 85 dance teams from across the nation competed in this event (its basketball equivalent would be the NCAA tournament). The Diamond Gems competed in the Division 1 Hip Hop Category and finished in FOURTH place.
--------------
If you weren't at the Liacouras Center last night, your options to follow the game were limited. There was NO radio coverage, nor streaming video. But if you accessed
-------------
A loyal Owl fan commented the other day that he would have found laughable the preseason prediction that Temple would win 16 of its first 19 games. I agreed. But put together good coaching, solid defense, crisp ball movement that leads to more assists than turnovers, and balanced scoring, and all of a sudden you have the makings of a 16-3 team.http://www.owlsports.com you could listen to a streaming audio version of the game featuring Harry Donahue doing play-by-play with John Baum providing game analysis. By the way, a group of us attending a Temple soccer game at Ambler Field this past fall were joined on the sideline by John Baum. John is an administrator in the Temple athletic department, a classy guy, and a fine representative of the athletic department and university.
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