Chronicowls, MMX, Post6

This week's winter wallop meant getting onto and off the Temple campus yesterday was no small undertaking. Unless one travelled by subway or train. Never underestimate the extensive SEPTA network. And never underestimate the power of the home-court advantage. There's a reason why the oddsmakers give an 8-point swing between playing home or away.
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Hard to tell that Rhode Island entered yesterday's game at the Liacouras Center ranked #14 in the RPI table, ahead of Temple's #17 ranking. But as the Owls learned one week ago at Richmond, a team making more than two-thirds of its shots will win games handily. This time, it was Temple who were the hot shooters. Also hard to tell if the Rhode Island defense was weak, or the Owls coaching staff designed an effective game plan. Temple's 23 assists were a season-high. Juan Fernandez played nearly 20 minutes, during which time he handed out a team-high six assists, including an alley-oop pass to T.J. Dileo that resulted in a dunk. Lavoy Allen didn't have a double-double yesterday, but his box score was very impressive - 17 Points, 7 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 2 Steals, 4 Blocks. Four Owls scored in double-figures. Not even mid-February and already a 20-win season.
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May never see this again - the Owls made EVERY ONE of their foul shots and three-point shots. Add to this mix making two-thirds of their other shots, and it's easy to understand why the Owls were never threatened in the second half. In fact, the Owls were never behind in yesterday's game.
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We didn't purchase 50-50 tickets yesterday. Of course, we heard loudly and clearly the announcement (during the first time-out following intermission) of the winning ticket. Does anyone else wonder how much the 50-50 raffle raises each game for the athletic teams? What if the PA announcer was to mention something like: "$840 was raised today for the women's lacrosse team - the student-athletes and Temple University thanks you for your generosity. "
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To give time for the parking garage traffic to exit, we visited Pub Webb, just half a block from the Syndeham St. entrance to the parking garage. Comfortable spot for a post-game recap, with music, plenty of TVs, friendly service, and pitchers of Yuengling for $12. Our second visit to Pub Webb, and unlike the first trip, we weren't subjected to a body search at the door. 45 minutes after game-end (and two pitchers later), the parking garage was still slowly exiting vehicles. Considering conditions on the streets, I'll give a pass this time to the garage officials. No such pass for the promotions department. Several years ago, the athletic department was recognized by its peers for the Hooter Birthday event. Gathering most of the area's team mascots to join in the celebration was a fresh idea. It's no longer fresh, and is very overproduced (and overused). And calling out "security" to rein in and pummel a contestant wearing a Villanova tee-shirt is a juvenile and embarrassing stunt. How about a time-out when there isn't any scheduled "entertainment"? And, is anyone else weary of the PA announcer giving play-by-play to the time-out contests?
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The Temple basketball program could use more corporate support. So it's good to see Philadelphia Federal Credit Union (PFCU) as one of the corporate sponsors. But we were all left yesterday wondering what or who exactly was the PFCU mascot? It was the sort of costume that had it been handed to just about anyone in attendance would have been immediately dismissed with a "do you really expect me to wear this out on the court?" I still can't tell you what it is, but its name is Moola Moola, and it is PFCU's kids club mascot. If you're not familiar with PFCU, they were the sponsor of last year's St. Patrick's Day parade. Don't know about this year.
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Four of Temple's next five games are on the road. And a first-round bye in the A-10 tournament is no sure thing. There are seven legitimate contenders for the top spot in the conference, so the Owls can scarcely afford a couple of slip-ups in the upcoming games.