Chronicowls '11, Post 9 (Temple-St. Joe's)

Walked up to the box office at the Palestra this morning and bought tickets at the going price. Those ducats entitled us to seats in the 12th row just off midcourt. Others must have been intrigued, or enticed,  by the pre-noon tip-off. Decent turnout from both schools, including pep bands and cheerleading squads. More than 7300 fans in attendance. And for the day and evening, more than 30,000 fans in Philadelphia will have watched one of three college basketball games. Removes any doubt over whether this city is still a college basketball town.  Other than Syracuse, I'm hard-pressed to name any other city in the US where 30,000 people will watch college basketball over the course of a day.
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Turnover free game, only 14 combined   20 assists for the Owls, and only 8 turnovers. Ramone Moore had an extraordinary floor game, recording 8 assists without a single turnover. Lavoy Allen has now recorded back-to-back double-doubles. The Owls never trailed in the game.
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Spread was 16. Final margin was 18. Oddsmakers right on it again.
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From comments overheard during the game, the St. Joe's faithful are losing patience with Coach Martelli. A talented group of freshmen were on the floor for the Hawks, but they're likely two seasons away from having a large impact.
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Couple of interesting ways to follow Temple basketball. On Twitter, @Owlified and @OwlScoop_com often will provide a running commentary during the game. And  there are several live bloggers. Look at the right-hand side of this blog for other blogs you might like to follow. There's a larger community of Temple hoops fans than I realized.

Chronicowls '11, Post 8 (Temple-UNC Charlotte)

The 1:30pm tweet from Temple read: ALERT more info : Eve classes after 5 canceled. Facilities/clinics open. Men's bball game v Charlotte 7pm LiacourasCtr *ON*.  Hmmm, classes canceled, game on? Former Governor Rendell would be pleased to learn this news.
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The game against Charlotte was broadcast on a Comcast cable channel. Good viewing, if you look past the absence of HD.  The Owls put in a strong performance. Coach Dunphy was interviewed on the post-game recap show. He should make more TV appearances.
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In the most recent blog post of Chronicowls, I commented on Lavoy Allen's breakout game in his freshman year,  against Charlotte. Tonight's play from Allen may be his breakout game in his senior year.  A double-double. His 30th career double-double (I can't imagine that there's  three Owls who have more). We're looking for many more.
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19 assists, and but 9 turnovers. That ratio of better than 2:1 will win most games. So will four scorers in double figures.
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More than 2,600 were in attendance, according to the offical box score.  I figure that the Broad St. subway was the way to travel. Those at the game were witness to Temple's 17th home win in a row.

A Look Back to When Lavoy Allen was Taking Shots

With Charlotte coming to the Liacouras Center this Wednesday, let's take a look back to a Lavoy Allen breakout game...

February 27, 2008
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Former coach Chaney often said defense wins games, and that's it's OK to win ugly.  The Owls reverted to Chaney-ball last night, with a stifling defense, to top Charlotte 75-61.

Dionte Christmas, who we know by his scoring prowess, played his best defense of the year, holding Charlotte's leading scorer, and one of the best players in the conference, to just three points.  Christmas was also the Owls leading scorer. In un-Chaney like fashion, the Owls shot very well, 51% from the field, 53% from three-point distance, and 82% from the foul line. Just for comparison, Charlotte shot 31% from the field.

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The Owls win last night was ugly because they were sloppy - 16 turnovers.  It would better put that Tyndale was sloppy, he had almost as many turnovers (6) as points (9).  It speaks volumes of how far this team has progressed when Temple can produce a 13-point win over a solid team on a night when Tyndale doesn't reach double figures.

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Freshman Lavoy Allen (Coach Dunphy's top recruit for this season) had one of his best games of the year, 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks. He's been reluctant to shoot this year (Nelson says it takes most of freshman year to build confidence), but not last night, Allen took more shots (12) than anyone else (including Christmas) on the Temple squad.

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The announced  attendance was just over 4000. No beer lines, suffice it to say.  The 4000 figure must be tickets sold, most of us there last night figured there couldn't have been more than 3000 in the crowd.

Either way, rather paltry  following - I guess it's going to take at least another year for the fans who left during the down years to return.  That includes the student body, whose section last night was at best two-thirds full.  But the pep band was particularly spirited last night, as were the performances from the Diamond Gems. The Gems' appearances were improved by the disappearance (we hope for good) of those hideous tan (I think they're more like flesh-colored)  shoes that make them look like they're dancing in bare feet.

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The win last night was the 15th  for the Owls this season. I'll admit that I was wrong. In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned that Temple would do well to win 10 games this season, and that 15 would be a stretch.

Never would I have expected that the Owls would be playing at this point of the season not only for a winning record but a BYE into the A10 tournament.

Last night's win means that Temple remains tied for third place in the A10.  The top four finishers earn a bye into the tournament, meaning that three wins, rather than four, in the conference tournament (to be held in Atlantic City, by the way , we should consider a  road trip) will produce a conference tournament championship, and most importantly, an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.

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In the all-important RPI ratings , Temple now sits at 81. Considering that they were hovering around 150 at the beginning of the season, I'd say there's been considerable progress. Next opponent, St. Joe's, is now at 44, and also one of the teams ahead of Temple in the A10 standings. Next stop, Palestra, Sunday night, to be part of a sellout crowd.

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None of the readers of  Chronicowls was of assistance in my request to learn the origins of Charlotte's nickname, so here you are...

The nickname, the 49ers, was chosen in recognition of the importance of the year 1949 in the history of the University. UNC Charlotte, which began as an off-cam pus center of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, would have died in 1949 had Bonnie Cone and her supporters not convinced the N.C. Legislature that Charlotte needed a permanent college. Charlotte College was established that year. Additionally, the campus is located on N.C. Highway 49, and Charlotte has a rich gold mining history -- the term "49ers" symbolizes gold mining. A bronze statue of the 49ers Gold Miner sits in front of the Reese Administration building on campus. The statue recalls the region's history as a gold mining center and symbolizes the pioneering spirit and determination that has led to UNC Charlotte's dramatic growth.

Nick, good guess about  49 having to do with the latitude.  At least you proffered a theory.

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.

Dunphy's 1st Win at Temple Against Top 20 Team (Xavier)

January 16, 2008

Maybe, just maybe, last night we saw the start of a program turnaround. I do know that we saw a spectacular performance last night against a top 20 team that Temple made look ordinary.As if to underscore my comments last week after the Duke game, the Owls last night had TWICE as many assists to turnovers, 21-11. That, coupled with strong defense with which  even coach Chaney would have been pleased, accounted for the strong performance and resounding victory.

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Too bad there were only 4000 fans to witness it (we did our part, we gathered a larger than usual contingent  for the evening that included a pre-game meal and adult beverages at McCrossan Tavern in Fairmount) but to be totally fair about the size of the crowd  the Temple students are still on holiday break.

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The Owls also had balanced scoring, four players scoring in double figures. While Sergio did not score double figures, he had TEN rebounds and FOUR blocked shots in his most impressive performance of his Temple career. I don't know what he did differently last night (he stayed out of foul trouble as well)  but I hope that Dunphy does, and coaches him to many repeat performances.

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The Owls next home game is a Big Five matchup next Wednesday against Penn. In between, the Owls travel to the Gateway to the West to meet the St. Louis University Billikens(should be a win, but the Owls don't play well on the road).   By the way, who knows what a Billiken is?   Hint, it's not  a dog, it is one of the truly unique mascots in college athletics, and it's  a symbol of good luck.

Chronicowls '11, Post 7 (Temple-Penn)

Penn had cut a 14-point Temple lead to 6 early in the second half , and the Owl supporters were getting restless. The oddsmakers’ 17 point spread on the game seemed way off the mark.  And then Temple went on one of its characteristic runs, separating themselves from the Quakers and coasting to a (yep, you guessed it) 17-point victory. Competent at their craft, are those oddsmakers.  Ramone Moore’s two free throws in the final minute of play made 17 the winning margin AND won every ticket-holder a free taco at Qdoba.

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Khalif Wyatt had a breakout game, leading Temple with 27 points. That made Wyatt the 7^th Owl to be the high scorer of a game this season. Lots of talent on this team.  Wyatt also recorded a team high 5 steals last night, and Lavoy Allen had season-high of 6 blocked shots. 

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Former Governor Ed Rendell joined nearly 8,000 fans at the Liacouras Center. Larger crowd than I expected. Good to see the suites in use, they're dark on many game nights.

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Diamond Gems were uninspired, in their outfits and performances. Must have been worn out from their recent appearance in Florida, where they competed in the College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship held at ESPN's Wide World of Sports Complex.  The Diamond Gems competed in the Division 1 Hip Hop Category (7^th place finish) and Division 1 Pom Category (a very respectable 4^th place finish).

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Last night the halftime entertainment once again consisted of a youth basketball game. Impressive play last night from the youngsters, including a handful of successful three-point shots. I wonder, though, why music has to be blaring out of the PA system while the game is underway. If someone insists that music must accompany halftime entertainment, then, please, turn  down  the volume.

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Former Temple great Bill Mlkvy (Owl Without a Vowel) was honored at halftime. He celebrated his 80th birthday yesterday. Looks 15 years his junior, and perpetually wears a smile. Sixty seasons ago, Bill Milkvy averaged 29 points a game, and scored 730 points. The former still stands as a school record. Only five players since Mlkvy  have scored more than 700 points in a season (and there are many more games in a season now than in Dr. Mlkvy's day). Those five are (descending from most recent): David Hawkins, Lynn Greer, Nate Blackwell, Terence Stansbury, and Hal Lear. If Mark Macon came to mind, he scored 699 points in his freshman season.

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The loss to Duquesne hurt Temple’s ranking in the polls and RPI, dropping out of the top 25 in each. A win this Saturday, in Cincinnati against Xavier, would be a huge boost. The Musketeers are the only Atlantic 10 school ahead of the Owls in the RPI rankings (read here for more).

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Lively post-game gathering at Pub Webb.  Seems like the place to be on campus on Wednesday nights. DJ spinning music, Yuenglings at a special price, and fans celebrating a hoops victory.

Penn's First Visit to Liacouras Center without Dunphy as Coach

January 23,2008
Not a whole lot to comment on last night's game - the Penn Quakers were just plain overmatched. They're weak, which perhaps speaks volumes about Fran Dunphy's coaching and recruiting capabilities - Penn's squad has fallen mightily since Dunphy left for North Broad St. To keep last night's result in perspective, St. Joe's (the Owls' next opponent) trounced Penn by 40 points. Nonetheless, the Owls now have (for the first time this season) more wins than losses.

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Returning to the TPC basketball key indicator for a moment - the Owls had almost twice as many assists (19) as turnovers (11) last night. Enough said (for now)on key indicators.

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On to some historical items (last night's game was pretty much in hand from the beginning, with the Owls jumping off to a 14-1 lead, so we occupied ourselves with some reminiscing about the good ole days for Temple Basketball). Those days were long ago - Temple has not been in the NCAA tournament since 2001, and that year was also the last time Temple won at least 20 games in a season, and the last time an Owl squad was ranked in the top 25.

And, has it really been nearly 8 years since Pepe Sanchez graduated? His senior year the Owls went 27-6, including a win over the then #1 ranked team Cincinnati, only to lose in the second round of the NCAA tournament to a mediocre Seton Hall team, a game that will be remembered most notably as the last time Scott Matlack hosted a party at his home to watch the Owls. Not that any of us are superstitious. As for Nick Scull, he became an Owl loyalist way back on March 26, 2002, when he and I took a train up to Madison Square Garden to watch the Owls in a semifinal NIT game. Temple lost to 78-77 to Memphis, in a game so exciting that Nick has now become a regular-season ticket holder. Speaking of Pepe, the last time any of us recall a celebration on Broad Street was November 20, 1998, when Pepe made three foul shots in the final seconds of the game to beat then #5 Michigan St.60-59. The Liacouras Center (some of you may recall that it was named the Apollo at Temple at that time) was full (10,000 plus) of fans for that game, many of whom ran onto the court at the end of the game, and many others carried the celebration onto Broad Street, blocking traffic in BOTH directions, and causing a scene which hasn't been seen since.

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By the way, last night's crowd (announced as 5233 but it sure seemed smaller) was the second-largest of this season  at the Liacouras Center.  At least there haven't been any lines at the beer concession, where Peggy has dutifully, and cheerfully, served us regularly.

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Last night, prior to tip-off,  Dionte Christmas was given a ball to commemorate his scoring the 1000th point of his career. Christmas is a junior, prompting a discussion of who is the leading scorer in Temple's history, and how many points did he have?  And, what is the single-season scoring record at Temple?  Mark Macon (no surprise here) had 2,609 points in his career. Dionte Christmas is not yet in the top 25, but surely will be in his senior year. Hal Lear holds the single-season record (745 in 1955-56) - just for the record, Dionte Christmas had exactly 600 points last season. Eddie Jones, a 10 plus year veteran of the NBA and surely one of the best Owl players in history (Scott mentioned last night that Jones was the best Temple player of the last 20 years), never scored 600 points in a season at Temple.

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Pathetic Twelve Minutes

Took nearly 12 minutes at the start of today's game for Temple to record its first basket (thankfully it was an away game). In that time, the Owls missed fourteen shots from the field, and committed seven fouls and six turnovers. Any fan tuning in to the telecast midway through the first half must have thought there was a typo on the screen - the score was Duquesne 20, Temple 2.
Enough said.  From that start, the outcome was predictable.

Let's look ahead to Wednesday night's Big Five matchup against Penn, at the Liacouras Center.