Chronicowls '12 Temple-Duke. I believe that we have won!

Last evening's game left me searching for words. So I'll let others do the talking.

What a great night for Temple, Philly basketball, and Fran Dunphy.  The mayor joined in with this tweet:

@Michael_Nutter: Congratulations #TempleU Owls on a HUGE win tonight! We're all so proud of you.

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Hollis-Jefferson contributed a season high 17 points on seven-of-10 shooting while grabbing six rebounds. Lee, a freshman, had his best game as an Owl, scoring 11 points, pulling down a team-high seven rebounds and rejecting a game-high three shots.

The duo led the Cherry and White to an improbable 32-29 rebound advantage.

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For the fourth consecutive season, Temple has defeated a top 10 team. As one tweet put it, #TUMBB=giantkillers.

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Temple fan and Chronicowls contributor Scott Matlack said before the game that the Owls would prevail if they shot well. And that they did, 56% from the field, and 50% from beyond the three-point arc.  Their best shooting performance thus far in the season. It is the highest single-game field goal percentage for Temple in nearly two years. Only an uncharacteristically high number of turnovers (17) kept the Owls from closing out the Blue Devils earlier than they did.

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A Hollis-Jefferson jumper with 10:45 left in the first half gave Temple the lead. Duke never led in the game again.

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The Wells Fargo Center hosted the third-largest crowd for a college basketball game in its history. And while there were plenty of blue shirts in the crowd, the turnout of Temple fans, including the student body, was most impressive. In case you were wondering, the largest college basketball crowd  at Wells Fargo was in 2006 when 20,859 fans saw Villanova knock off #1 ranked Connecticut.

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Here are the Temple students rushing the court:

Here is the lucky Temple scarf, worn by Chronicowls blogger. Their purchase supports the Owls soccer team.Look for us at the Liacouras Center this Saturday - the scarves are available for purchase.

While Temple's win was the evening's highlight, it was quite the night for other Philly schools, as Penn, St. Joe's, LaSalle (impressive win over Xavier) and Drexel all emerged as victors.

And, here, let ESPN recap the Temple win for us.

Chronicowls '12, Temple-Villianova

This is our ciTy.  So read the final rollout yesterday at the Liacouras Center during Temple’s  BigFive matchup with Villanova. Fans attending the game yesterday were reminded throughout of Villanova’s unwillingness to support Temple’s bid for membership in the Big East. The Cherry Crusade, Temple's  student section, came out in strong numbers (as did the Pep band) and were clever in their rollouts (below are some of the better ones).

You're scared to make this a conference game

VILLAINova
Nova Law can't add points to This score
Villanova: Latin for Liar
Nova says jump, Big East asks how high?

The best from the student section came with just under a minute remaining in the game (I thought a bit premature but others thought it timely), when the Cherry Crusade broke out in the customary victory chant of “I believe we have won…”. And so we had. Over local rival Villanova.

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The charged atmosphere inside the Liacouras Center was sparked by a stirring rendition of the National Anthem by Temple student (and former Diamond Gem) Chelsea Wargo.

Chelsea has sung the National Anthem at least three times before a Temple hoops game – we certainly hope it wasn’t her last. Catch the ending here.

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A solid performance from the Owls. Ramone Moore had a career-high 32 points, including 14 of 15 from the foul line. Only 10 turnovers. And holding their own on the boards against a taller Villanova team, led by Hollis-Jefferson’s 14 rebounds.  Both sides were cold-shooting, especially in the first half. During an eight-minute stretch, Villanova scored but one field goal, and Temple could open only a four-point lead.

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A sellout crowd was announced. Saw a bunch of unfilled seats, but I guess I’m nit-picking. Those with tickets who didn’t attend missed an entertaining Philly BigFive college basketball game. Attractive home schedule this season, with Xavier and a much-improved St. Joe’s squad coming in to the Liacouras Center for Saturday games. I expect a few more sellouts. The Liacouras Center is a fabulous place to take in a basketball game. You don't have to take just my word on it. The ESPN broadcaster said so during the game telecast. And let’s not forget Duke at the Wells Fargo Center  and Maryland at the Palestra.

For the most part, a classy display from the Temple faithful.  On the lesser side, The Pep Band drowned out the Villanova cheerleaders performance (it was their only one) during a timeout, and the student section disregarded their instruction sheet and shouted “Sucks” after the introduction of the Villanova starters.  Instructions for the Cherry Crusade are to turn their back to the court during the introduction of the opposing team’s lineup, and to stand in complete silence (silence=unnerving). Let’s see how long it takes for this to become standard practice.

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I’m certain the sellout crowd was a contributing factor, but walking through the concourse during intermission was a particular challenge. I heard one fan say it brought to mind the narrow concourses at the Spectrum.  At one point, what I thought was one  long beer  line snaking through the concourse turned out to be TWO long lines, one for the rest room and another for the beer kiosk. I’m a regular at the Liacouras Center and even I was confused.

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The Diamond Gems were not in mid-season form last night. Here they are in full form, at the 2011 national championships.

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The spread had Temple favored by 8.5 points. During the last seven minutes of the game, Temple’s  lead was between 7 and 11. Those oddsmakers were right on the mark, again!

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Last night’s post-game wrap-up took place at Bar Ferdinand. In Northern Liberties, less than 10 minutes from the Liacouras Center. Recommended for its conviviality, food, and Spanish wines. Fine selection of tapas. So much fun you could easily run up the tab.

No D for X

The tweet from OwlScoop following yesterday's nationally televised game best recapped the preceding two hours:  "Good shooting, awful transition D, mental lapses, and Allen is still MIA."
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If you were unaware of the outcome of yesterday's Temple-Xavier matchup, and were told that the Owls  recorded 20 assists against 9 turnovers, and made 11 three-point shots (a season high), surely you would have expected a Temple victory. Yet the Owls lost by 11.  In the last 15 minutes of the game, Lavoy Allen, Juan Fernandez, and Ramone Moore did NOT score a basket. And Xavier was the first opponent this season to make more than half of its shots. 'Nuff said.  Scootie Randall had a breakout game (career high 28 points) and Khalif Wyatt posted another solid  performance.
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Not sure what this says, but Temple has lost 80% of the time this season (1-4) when recording 10 or less free throws made.  This stat is courtesy of  templefight.com , a web site worth visiting if you appreciate rich detail about all things Owl basketball.
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I had a good feeling going into yesterday's game. Earlier in the day, Villanova was impressive in a win over #3 ranked Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, and my beloved Liverpool Football Club won its first game under its new coach. The trifecta wasn't meant to be, I guess. And congratulations to Penn, who broke their four-year winless streak against Big Five opponents.
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Onto Wednesday night, when the Owls return home to face Charlotte, in search of their 17th consecutive home victory.