Stand Tall and Resolute

The title offers my best advice to aspiring fans of Temple athletics. As if the viewing experience weren't an adequate deterrent, the Owl Club (or Athletic Department) have determined that last year's campaign of 20 losses (a school first) merits higher ticket prices and an extension of a seat license surcharge(I know, I'm supposed to refer to it as a contribution to the university) that would make sense if the seat, once vacated, were  resold. The resale of the seat is as likely as Temple restoring its gymnastics and baseball programs as varsity sports. That's a discussion for another forum, along with the state of the men's soccer program. For now, let's enjoy the successes of the women's athletic squads.


After a 10-month hiatus from blogging, Chronicowls is back. For how long is as much up to the readers as it is to the author. Once again, your comments are welcome - actually, they're invited.

Chronicowls '15 Temple-La. Tech

Notes from the Chronicowls Underground, posted by blog contributor Phil "Tall" Wagner

Owls over American 40-37…over Lousiana Tech 82-75…a trend?...unlikely!

AAC meets ACC (that’d be #4 Duke) Friday at Brooklyn’s Barclay’s Center. Hmmm!

But for now, last night’s was one helluva game. Qdoba tacos for all, soft or crunchy.

First Half

From Richie’s seats, we saw an Owl-lay-up/dunk attempt become a stuck-tight rim-jam.

And acres of Gems and cheerleaders deftly filling 4-minute commercial breaks.

We saw Tech surge via great guards, rocket passes, fast-twitch balletics and deadly treys.

To say naught of a whirligig, arms akimbo, 360 dunk, a Greentail Howitzer, quoth Scott.

Plus hierarchical sweatmopping—dweeb on knees w/towel vs. dude w/pad on pole.

Student band, 8 tubas strong, in rare form. Quoth Scott, “Can’t have too much tuba.” True.

Yet at the half, miraculously, Bulldogs over Owls by only 4, thanks to a Tech buzzer-loser.

Halftime

Some poor bastard, shooting 1 from halfcourt for a year’s apartment lease, won…a tee shirt.

Second Half

Bingo! 4+ minutes in, reseated just behind 8 gyrating Gems, we see the Owls go up 43-38.

Then 49-40 on Tech goaltending. And 54-44 halfway in, a sterling 20-6 run setting the tone.

Josh Brown showed some moxie, his career-high17 highlighted by 10 straight, capped by a 3.

40-minute DeCosey and Cummings, his 13 from the stripe mostly late, each bagged 20.

Obi Enechionyia. Aiynoihcene Ibo. Obi Enechionyia. Aiynoihcene Ibo. Intoxicating stuff.

With 19.3 sec. left, at77-69, I BELIEVE…  rings forth to stick a final fork in the Bulldogs.

Conclusions

Owls +2 turnovers, -4 assists! Jaylen Bond back Fri? Maybe 1,500 there of 4,237 announced?

Dunphyspeak: We went with (pressure) and it kind of looked like we knew what we were doing.

First Win in The American

Posted by Chronicowls contributor Tall Phil

And so the stage was dramatically set on this final pre-Super Bowl polar vortexed eve. Here they were, the AAC’s lone two sub-500 teams duking it out for either a Rutgers Redux or a kiss-your-sister split. Introduced with pyrotechnic fanfare, 5-13 Temple was favored by 4 on its home floor over 8-12 Rutgers. Remember, these Scarlet Knights had already upended the Owls by 5 in peerless Piscataway on New Year’s Day.

The basketball world held its breath. And mind you, adding immeasurably to the Owls’ woes this season—ever since parlaying its early 4-3 record into 4-5 by way of those two loin-numbing, early December losses to Texass and Texass Southern (by a grand total of two damn points)—was the fact that the AAC’s playing some mean ball in its own right of late.

Consider its aggregate 127-72 tally to date, well past the regular season mid-point. Consider that its top three teams sit comfortably amongst the AP’s top 25. Consider that UConn’s next win should boost them there to boot (rhymes with hoot).

Inconsequential interruption #1: The intrepid Chronicowls field team, always in search of a new truth, dined before the game at Kite & Key, 1818 Callowhill, where the draft beer selection excels. Well, the bottomless mussels, 4-way shared in a huge bowl full of hot (temp) sweet “soup” prior to sandwiches, are worth the travel from Erie. Great evenings are built on great meals, plus respites at Pub Webb afterwards. But we digress.

Now, consider this about dem Owls. Eleven games remain, 6 at home. Next up, this Saturday at 4 p.m. at Liacouras, is #9 Villanova (17-2). Oh, and by the way, Temple smoked these same Wildcats last year by 15, to go 3 of their last 4 over the Main Line boyz. And the Owls hardly want to see Villanova clinch the venerable Big 5 title on the Liacouras floor, now do they? So, can you spell “jinx”…or “domination”…or do you sense that the impossible’s about to happen?

That wouldn’t right this season’s ship. But it will (not, would) feel good. Then, ahead after that for the Owls are two vs. #12 Louisville, one vs. #22 Memphis and one vs. Connecticut. So barring a miraculous serial moment in the Memphis-based AAC tourney, there’ll be neither tap, lap or rap dancing on North Broad after conference champion coronation on the Ides of March.

Inconsequential interruption #2: Those coveted, multi-colored, limited-edition Temple Owls’ scarves, intended for frigid, freezing and just plain cold weather, drew wide-eyed attention yet again last eve. Should prospective consumer demand prove out via comments to Chronicowls, who knows, they may reappear on the open market.

 

Now here’s an interesting if worthless non-sequitur factoid proving yet again that life’s seldom fair. Temple’s total 1441 points this season are just 17 less than its opponents’ 1458. Yeah, that doesn’t change reality for a 6-13, sub-.333 team. But go figure the power and the glory of numbers and stats in sports. Without such galvanizing drivel, what’s to talk about, or bet on.

More to the point factoid: Temple’s 88 points scored last eve were 6 more than Rutgers’ 82 (and 2 more than Vegas) as the Owls laughed their 8-game futility streak away with their first home victory in nearly 6 weeks. And did so while nabbing their first conference win this season.

Inconsequential interruption #3: Walking up to the ticket counters last eve, this commentator was stopped by a nice-looking guy clutching two tix. Did I need a ticket for the game, no charge? Hell, I’ll take a frontal lobotomy, no charge? We consummated the deal—thanks again—as I reflected on this being the second such instance, and on Temple folks being my kinda folks.

You still want more numbers? Temple last night ruled in 20-pt. scorers (2-0), team rebounds (7-5), blocked shots (3-2), steals (8-2), turnovers (6-13) and paid attendance (5,039, perhaps one third of whom went through the motions of appearing in the actual flesh). Not so much, though, in 3-pointers (6-19, .316 to Rutgers’ 10-17, .588), which is why the score closed so alarmingly.

Anyway, things, for this moment, are looking up. In basketball as in life, there is always good news and bad. Come what may this season will end sooner vs. later, yet with valuable lessons learned and a strong nucleus in the fold for ’14-’15. Seem like an eternity since Temple trimmed Penn 78-73 on Nov. 9 at the Palestra? It is. But there’s still a month and a half to go. Let it happen. And besides, who’s watching the bi-polar Flyers, gestational Sixers or ancient Phils?

Final thought: Our seats are behind those occupied by residents and staff from a Woodbine, NJ home for developmentally disabled characters. And they are characters, both knowledgeable and passionate about their basketball, plus otherwise much like us all. A different contingent comes to each—yes, each—game through the good graces of generous alums and the Temple Athletic Department. When you witness such a spirited collaboration, you see a better world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Owls Lose by 1 in OT: Snatching Defeat from the Longhorns: Temple vs. Texas, Wells Fargo Center, 12/7/13

Posted by Chronicowls contributor Tall Phil

 

So there we were at the Wells Fargo Center, where entertainment reigns while, coincidentally, sporting events happen. Here’s a place where employees greet you with “How you doin’” according to a stated Customer Service Philosophy. A hallowed sports venue where the lights and lighting shenanigans so bedazzle that you feel punch drunk roughly 90 seconds in. Fact is, Nick among us, who promised to be our designated lighting commentator before vanishing, is said to be receiving light therapy for heavy lighting disorder, aka HLD. Come in, Nick.

If you picked Temple and the spread, you ended up doin’ good, but that’s a tough way to make a buck. (And to cheer your team on!) Any other bet, not so good, because, of this game’s 161 points, Temple’s nice round 80 fell, well, but a millimeter tragically short. Like a Dalton (45-minute man) Pepper-stepping-over-the-line-on-a-critical-free-throw-shot short).

Early on, looked like a blowout was brewing—the Owls down by a few, more, a bunch, and 11 at the half. But at the buzzer ending regulation, to say naught of the heart-piercing buzzer ending OT, you needed a shower whether you’d played or just watched this lollapalooza. And yes, it very much came down to free throws, which were the Owls’ glaring 15-31 Achilles Heel. (Elsewhere—3 fewer turnovers, twice as many steals and 6 more assists—they done good.)

As Joe in our foursome put it,

Shocking final last seconds…BlogMaster Tim’s first commandment states: You ab-so-lute-ly cannot win without making free throws!!!

Period.

 

Then there’s Scott, he with the keen analytical mind amongst us:

Texas was shredding Temple's man-to-man defense in the first half and shutting Temple's half-court offense. They were up 16 points at one point, and seemingly grabbing every offensive rebound for a total of 21 second chance points versus Temple’s 9. It certainly looked like an easy win for Texas.

 

But Temple hung in there and once Dunphy switched to a zone defense the tide started to turn. Temple fought back to tie Texas at 73 with numerous steals and fast break baskets. That's when Dunphy hurt his Dingle. Dan Dingle left with what appeared to be a turned ankle but returned to contribute 18 minutes in total. Temple could have easily won this game twice. First, Anthony Lee shot 3-9 from the charity stripe, then Dalton Pepper stepped over the free-throw line to negate a shot that went in after all.  That would have at least assured a second OT.

But no, the tough Texas guard made a huge basket to seal the victory. This was a tough loss but one that won't hurt them when the tournament committee meets in March. It was encouraging to see Temple play great zone defense and to get valuable minutes from Dingle, Williams, and McDonnell, but they need to do a much better job of boxing out and rebounding or they are doomed to suffer the same fate when playing teams that have size down low.

Joe again, on the ambiance of the day:

Forget cheerleaders - Diamond Gems are all one needs to live free and smile freely.

Truth be spoken, Joe. Wholesome and talented as each is, they had it going in unison. You go, girls.

 

Good selection of beer - even peanuts for the second half.

No argument, Joe. Recommendation from this IPA drinker who couldn’t find a true IPA: Go with the Red Hook Audible. (Thought I was mishearing when she said Audible. Thought that was sports talk.).

 

Best party preparation this season got us off a fast start

Totally, Joe. Nice twist on tailgating.

 

Loved our second half seats.

Who didn’t, Joe—and brilliant reconnaissance. From a perfectly good vantage point with stunning diagonal view of all the action, at Joe’s urging we established eminent domain in four thrones five rows up, just wide of mid-court for the second half. It was the eye and we the beholders.

Scott again:

Texas roster lists the two big guys #55 and #44 as 6'9" and 6'10". They looked much bigger than Anthony Lee to me.

  South St. [to which we repaired, Copacabana specifically, for thirst-quenching adult bevs served by the proud GM doing it just right] was a great after-party idea. Next home game is 12/18 [vs. Texas Southern, 7 p.m.].

Oh, by the way, anyone find the Owls’ shorts design (using the word loosely) a bit gnarly? Just askin’. I mean, the wing thing’s cool and awl, but need we gag on it.

 

But that’s a rhetorical question, as is, at 4-4, where’re the Owls headed from here. And, come to think of it, why’s the guy offering water squeeze bottles during timeouts in shirt and tie.

 

Temple Made

Khalif Wyatt is Progress Made. Temple Made.

In his freshman year, Wyatt played 19 minutes and scored 5 points. For the SEASON.
Fast forward, to 2013, his senior year, and Wyatt wins Player of the Year award in the Atlantic 10 Conference, and produces a memorable, and remarkable,  NCAA tournament performance.

Here's a look back, through the lens of Chronicowls. of the Temple making of Khalif Wyatt.

Wyatt has breakout game (2011) - read here

Wyatt and the Eurostep (2012) - read here

Wyatt's 25 points and clutch foul shooting - read here

Thanks to all seniors (Di Leo, Hollis-Jefferson, O'Brien, Randall, Wyatt) for a very entertaining season. Good luck to each of you. And good luck to every Chronicowls Reader.

Chronicowls '13 Temple-VCU

Exhilarating finish to the regular season! Talk about wild swings, I don’t recall a game where each team had a lead larger than 15 points. Yet it was the Cherry and White who had the last lead, prevailing over #21 VCU, and clinching a first-round bye in next week’s Atlantic 10 tournament. And, most likely, assured themselves of a spot in the NCAA tournament

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At the 16:08 mark, the Owls had a 12-3 lead. The Cherry and White didn’t score again until five minutes had passed, during which time VCU ran off 18 consecutive points, making 8 straight shots. VCU built that lead to 16, with just over 3 minutes left in the first half. The Owls then ran off the next 11 points, to cut the halftime deficit to 5.

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VCU entered the game creating more opponent turnovers than all teams in the nation. Key to this game: VCU had more turnovers than Temple. And the Owls had more steals than the visitors.

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A sellout was announced. While there were pockets of empty seats, the Liacouras Center was awash in white, and charged in atmosphere. Lots of Ram supporters came up from Richmond as VCU fans filled almost two entire sections. And queues were everywhere: into, and of course, out of, the parking garage; at the ticket window, stretching across the entire lobby; at the concession stands; and the restrooms.  But I’ll gladly accept the lines rather than the desolate feeling from games where the crows number no more than 4000.

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Four Owls, led by Khalif Wyatt’s 30 points, scored in double figures. That’s an encouraging sign, as the owls have won 14 of 17 games in which they’ve had four double-figure scorers. And Wyatt became the 12^th Temple player in history to score more than 600 points in a season, and has an outside chance of becoming only the 5^th to score 700 points.

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John Chaney was in the house, as was former President Peter Liacouras, as they joined the 1986-87 team on the floor during a halftime recognition. Dean Demopolous, assistant to coach Chaney, also participated in the ceremony. Dean is presently an assistant coach with the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers.

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Probably among the top 5 games I’ve witnessed at the Liacouras Center. Other four that leap to mind are: December 1998 one-point, last-second win over #5 Michigan State; December 2008, Dionte Christmas scored 35 points to lead the Owls to an 88‐72 win over #8 Tennessee; December 2009, Juan Fernandez delivered a career‐high 33 points in a 75‐65 win over #3 Villanova; December 2010 Ramone Moore exploded for a career‐high 30 points in a 68‐65 win over #9 Georgetown.

First Meeting

Temple and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) have not played each other before.

Could there be a better time for their first meeting? Final home game of the regular season for the Owls. VCU ranked in the top 25. The Cherry and White in search of a victory to bolster their claim to a spot in the NCAA tournament. Four seniors playing in their final game at the Liacouras Center. Game on national TV (this will be the first time that CBS will be broadcasting a game from the Liacouras Center). 
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I would expect a sellout, but considering how disappointing the crowds have been this year, I won't predict one. I'll set the over/under at 9600.
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Virginia is a commonwealth. So is Pennsylvania. So why isn't Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) named Pennsylvania Commonwealth University (or PCU)?
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Several interesting subplots to watch for during the game.
Temple is ranked 11th in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (10.9). VCU plays an aggressive, full-court defense which has helped them to #1 in the nation in total steals and turnovers forced per game (20.1). Yet this same defense allows many easy baskets,  so VCU allows its opponents to make nearly 45% of their shots. Temple has won 18 of the 20 games this year when they've shot better than 40%.
Khalif Wyatt leads the Atlantic 10 conference in scoring. VCU leads the conference in team scoring average per game (nearly 80 points per game).
Both sides enter the game averaging an identical number of rebounds (35) and assists (14.9) per game.
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2013 marks the 25th anniversary of arguably the finest team in Cherry and White basketball history, the 1987-1988 team that finished the season ranked #1 in the Associated Press poll. That team will be honored at halftime this Sunday.
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Temple is presently ranked #43 in the RPIRPI rankings, an indication of how strong the A10 has been this year. A loss to VCU could drop the Owls out of the top 50,  thus making the Owls' performance in the A10 tournament the final determinant in whether they receive an NCAA invitation. The conference tournament in NYC (at the Barclay Center, not Madison Square Garden) next week will Temple's final one, as the Cherry and White will move to a yet-to-be-named conference. So, it's now official, the Owls will NEVER play a Big East Conference basketball game. If leaked reports play out, the Owls will be playing in the America 12 Conference. Huh?
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Owls are everywhere!  This one, at the PHS Flower Show, is ready for tomorrow's Whiteout!

Chronicowl Musings - March (not quite madness yet) 2013

Another game down to the final seconds, and another victory for the Owls.

Below, from the Twittersphere, is a snapshot of the game, and main contributors to the win.

Jake O'Buckets, as he's affectionately referred to by the Cherry Crusade for his shooting prowess, had his first double-double wearing Cherry and White. He had quite a few while playing at Boston University.  And, once again, Khalif Wyatt led the Owls in scoring, including clutch foul shooting in the final five minutes.
Cummings' three-pointer just 20 seconds into the game had the Owls faithful off their feet and into their seats, and handed the Owls their only lead of the half. The Owls did not regain the lead until  the 15-minute mark of the second half, and sttretched that lead into a comfortable 11(or so we thought) with nearly 10 minutes remaining in the contest. The URI Rams quickly tied the game, making the final eight minutes  very tense.  Why were we surprised?
The I Believe chant erupted with just a few seconds remaining. Nice story in the Inky this week about the I Believe Guy.

 For those unfamiliar, here's background on this feel-good story.
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At least 2000 fans brought their empty seat disguises yesterday. Along with several thousand youngsters at the Liacouras Center to celebrate Hooter's birthday ( the birthday celebration was a fresh idea several years ago but has now gone stale), the announced attendance topped 9000 (second-largest of the season).
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A rare out-of-conference game, a make-up of a game in December rescheduled due to particularly nasty weather, produced Temple's 20th win of the season, and the top of the Inky front page header, as shown below.  And while it may not have been the burst of spring, it surely was a burst of Wyatt, as in Khalif. 
Khalif Wyatt had a most ordinary 38 minutes of game, and a most extraordinary final two minutes of game. He tallied 12 points in those final 120 seconds, to turn a 5 point deficit into a five point win, over a stunned Detriot squad, and an equally stunned but ever more gleeful Temple crowd (only
4000-plus of them by the way, yet another crowd that filled fewer than half of the seats in the 10,206 seat arena).    This game was also the final game of the Gotham Classic, a December tournament in which Temple emerged the winner by virtue of their wins against Syracuse and Detroit.

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Yesterday, in the city of Brotherly Love, was a day for college basketball junkies. Starting with the Temple game at 2pm,  a fan could have watched the Owls victory, stopped after the game to have a bite to eat (at any of the spots mentioned in the Places to Visit Before or After the Game on the far right column of this blog), continued on the Palestra for a 6pm tipoff between Penn and Harvard, left at halftime, walked a few blocks to the Daskalakis Center for the tipoff of Drexel-UNC Wilmington, stayed for the first half, and then headed out to City Line to watch the second half of St. Joe's -Fordham. And, oh yeah, this itinerary did not include LaSalle, which was hosting Duquesne at the same time the Cherry and White were on the floor.  Don't know how many Philadelphians took in more than one game, but I do know that more than 23,000 fans were in attendance for those games.
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City Series games, like the Temple-LaSalle contest at Liacouras Center just last week, bring out the best (and worst) of rollouts. LaSalle fans brought out the best banner (IMO) of the season during that game: Duquesne Wins are Temple Made (Duquesne has one win in the Atlantic Ten this season).

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A whiteout (like the one above, against Xavier last year, in a nationally televised game) is planned for next Sunday's final home against VCU's Rams (go figure, the opponents in Temple's final two home games this season have a ram as their nickname). Disclosure: my first, and only football helmet, as a youngster had the Los Angeles (now St. Louis) Ram as its insignia.  Anyway, VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University) is in the top #25, and should draw a sellout crowd. Wouldn't you expect that the fans attending the game yesterday would be reminded (informed) by the PA announcer of next Sunday's home and regular season finale, with an enjoinder to buy seats right after this game, at the ticket windows , open for your convenience, in the lobby.  Alas, all ticket windows were closed.
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The athletic department should cease promoting, immediately, Temple's entry into the Big East. It now appears very likely that Temple may never play a Big East basketball game.  And what's with the Big East member school banners flying prominently in the concourse of Liacouras Center. A bit premature, I'd offer.
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Five consecutive one-point games. We'll never see that again in our lifetimes. That's more one-point games than the Owls have had the previous FOUR YEARS. Surely, lots of drama and tension this year.
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South Florida, Southern Methodist University, Houston, East Carolina, and Central Florida are among the schools Temple will play next season in the to-be-named-later Conference. Other than South Florida (and I've trying to forget that game in the second round of last year's NCAA tournament) the Owls have not faced any of these schools in the last decade. Not exactly rivals, one might say. Makes you want to run right out to get season tickets for next year's campaign, right?