Chronicowls, MMX, Post2

The Owls earned a HUUUGE win, on the road today, against a team unranked in the polls but in the top 5 in the RPI ratings, an underreported indicator used by NCAA officials to decide who will be part , and who will not, of March Madness. The Owls prevailed in overtime, after failing to score a basket in the final five minutes of regulation and squandering a seven point lead. 14 turnovers (to match their number of assists) for Temple, an uncharacteristically sloppy performance. Which, I guess, shows just how good this Temple team is, to turn a mediocre performance into a win against a team that had lost just once before today's game. Fernandez, who had made just 3 of his 26 shots in the last two games, was back in form today and finished as Temple's leading scorer.
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Couple of easy home wins, and a dispiriting loss, since I last wrote. First was the throwback, or turn back the clock, game, at McGonigle Hall. A clever, and as it turned out, successful promotion. I doubt that 3900 fans would have turned out had the game been played at the Liacouras Center. And even if they had, the game there wouldn't have had the same feel as 3900 fans filling every corner of McGonigle. We arrived after tip-off, and despite having tickets(which entitled us to a section but not a seat) in hand, were initially denied entrance because "there was no more room". Reason eventually prevailed. Bowling Green folded under the pressure of playing in front of a packed house.

Less than a week later, another packed house (although to be honest there were numerous unoccupied seats in the student section) greeted the visitors from Kansas. First-time a #1 ranked team came into Liacouras Center. Wouldn't be surprised if there isn't another in our lifetime. This time, it was the Owls who folded in front of the full house and a national TV audience. And while the capacity crowd made for an exciting atmosphere, we were surprised by the large contingent of fans wearing blue Kansas gear. Either Kansas University sponsored a package trip to Philly (for the Mummers parade and hoops - the game was played , after all, the day after New Year's) or all Kansas alums east of the Mississippi decided to take in this particular game. Oh, what's that you say? This game was the ONLY time Kansas was scheduled to play east of the Mississippi River this season? Well, then, we have our answer. As for the game, those of you in attendance know, the less said, the better. Those of you not at the game, the less said, the better.

Could it have been only five seasons ago the Saint Joseph's University Hawks were the last Division I College Basketball team to finish the regular season undefeated? My, how far St. Joe's has fallen. I know we play the Hawks again this year, and I should not be writing them off, but the common wisdom was that the recruiting effect from that magical season would propel St. Joe's into an elite team for years. Hasn't happened. The Owls won the game this past Wednesday, by a margin larger than any of the past 25 years in this series, and Juan Fernandez did NOT score a point.
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The Liacouras Center is a fine place to watch a basketball game. From any seat. Much like the Palestra, where we'll be for the next Temple game, against Penn. More on that in a moment. We sat, for the St. Joe's game, behind a basket, yet never felt distant from the action. The seats upstairs, I'm told, also provide a nice vantage point. Too bad the Owls, and the Liacouras Center, are underappreciated. The crowd for the St. Joe's game was reported as just over 6000. The place didn't look to be half-full. I'm curious to see the size of the crowd at the Palestra for this Wednesday evening's game. (I know, you're thinking that I'm curious to see, and guess, the size of the crowd for every game). Yet there is another reason for my curiosity. The Penn game (which is obviously not a Temple home game) is included in our Temple season ticket package. Not sure how this all came to be, but certainly somebody in the Athletic administration deserves credit. There, I said it.
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Once again, we didn't hear the winning ticket for the 50-50 raffle announced. At halftime, as we were advised by the track and field student-athletes hawking the tickets prior to the game. Or, during the first time-out after intermission, as is often done. Or at all. Not saying that this is all a hoax, but rather that there should be a better way of running this fund-raiser.