Temple

Temple Basketball Schedule: 2008-09

Press Release — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:51:54 -0700

PHILADELPHIA - Defending Atlantic 10 Conference champion Temple opens its 2008-09 men's basketball season at the Charleston Classic on November 14. The slate is highlighted by a home game against nationally-prominent Tennessee and a trip to defending NCAA Champion Kansas.

Tennessee, coming off a Sweet 16 appearance and a regular season SEC title, invades the Liacouras Center on Saturday, December 13. The Vols are the second of two home games prior to the New Year, with Miami (OH) serving as the Owls' home opener on December 3. The remaining non-conference home game is against Kent State (Jan. 5).

The Cherry and White makes its first trip to Allen Fieldhouse since 1993 when it takes on the Jayhawks on December 20. The Owls also play non-conference road games against Lafayette, Buffalo, Penn State, Long Beach State, Eastern Michigan as well as Big 5 rivals Villanova and Penn.

The Charleston Classic, a three-game tournament held at the Carolina First Arena in Charleston, S.C., includes Charleston, Hofstra, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Clemson, East Tennessee State, TCU and Western Michigan.

The Atlantic 10 Conference slate opens with road games at La Salle (Jan. 10) and Massachusetts (Jan 17). The Owls then play three of their next four leagues games at home - Saint Louis (Jan. 22), Charlotte (Jan. 24) and Richmond (Jan. 31) with the lone road contest in that stretch being Rhode Island (Jan. 28).

February opens with a date at Xavier (Feb. 5). The Owls then host Rhode Island (Feb. 8) before travelling to St. Joe's (Feb. 12) and Duquesne (Feb. 15). A three-game home stretch featuring Fordham (Feb. 18), St. Bonaventure (Feb. 22) and La Salle (Feb. 25) is followed by a trip to Dayton (Feb. 28) to conclude the month.

A home game with rival Saint Joseph's (Mar. 5) starts March Madness for Temple fans with a trip to George Washington ending the regular season (Mar. 7).

The 2009 A-10 Men's Basketball Championship will again be held at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall from March 11 through 14.

Former Temple Owl Mark Tyndale to Play in Australia

Press Release — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:58:47 -0700

PHILADELPHIA - Temple University men's basketball standout Mark Tyndale has signed a professional basketball contract with the Adelaide 36ers of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He will leave for Australia next week.

"This is a great opportunity," Tyndale said. "Adelaide made me a generous offer and (former Temple star) Rick Brunson said it is a really good league to play in."

One of the best all-around players in Temple history, Tyndale shared the Philadelphia Big 5's co-Most Outstanding Player award with Pat Calathes of Saint Joseph's and was named the Most Inspirational Player at the Portsmouth Invtational. He also earned Most Valuable Player honors for the Temple men's basketball team.

The first player in Atlantic 10 Conference history to rank among the top 10 in scoring and rebounding and top five in assists and steals in the league, the Philadelphia native (Simon Gratz) averaged 15.9 points, while leading the team in rebounding (7.2 rpg.) and assists (4.3 apg.). He is also the only Temple player to rank among the school's all-time top 20 scorers (1,729 points) and rebounders (733) and top 10 assists (377) and steals (201) leaders.

Temple Extends Contract of Fran Dunphy

Press Release — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 07:05:04 -0700

Temple has announced a two-year contract extension for head men's basketball coach Fran Dunphy that will keep the Owls’ mentor at the University through the 2013-14 season. Dunphy, who is in his third season directing the Temple program, guided the Owls to the 2008 Atlantic 10 Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

“We knew when we hired Fran Dunphy two years ago that he was the right man to lead Temple basketball,” Director of Athletics Bill Bradshaw said. “Now I am even more pleased to be able to tell the Temple community that he will be leading the program for at least the next six years. We could not have a better person, nor a better coach, at the helm.”

In his two years at Temple, Dunphy has brought the Owls back into the national spotlight. Named the 2008 Eastern College Coach of the Year, Dunphy guided the Cherry and White to a 21-13 overall mark in 2007-08, his second season, including the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2000-01 season.

One of the most respected coaches in the nation, Dunphy owns a 343-194 overall record over his 19-year coaching career. Prior to his arrival at Temple, he posted a school-record 310 wins in 17 years at the University of Pennsylvania. He led Penn to nine NCAA bids, 10 Ivy League titles, nine 20-win seasons and three Philadelphia Big 5 City Series titles.

NCAA Tournament: Quick Morning Review

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:14:09 -0700

A quick review of the morning action on Day One of the NCAA Tournament: (3) Xavier 73 - (14) Georgia 61 Josh Duncan, one of the most efficient players in college basketball, finished with 20 points as the Musketeers rebounded from a slow start to beat Georgia. Coming off their miraculous SEC Tournament win, Georgia looked to have the magic early before running out of gas down the stretch. Everybody who picked Xavier to go the Sweet Sixteen or beyond took a big sigh of relief.. and now XU plays the winner of Baylor/Purdue. (5) Michigan State 72 - (12) Temple 61 The Spartans shut down Temple's leading scorer, Dionte Christmas, holding him to just 2 points on 1 of 10 shooting. Luckily for Christmas, he's a junior, and won't have to end his career on the worst game of his career. Drew Neitzel also had an off game, 5 points on 2-10 shooting, but the Spartans overcame this with a deeper and more balanced attack. (1) Kansas 85 - (16) Portland State 61 There's no use wasting precious space with commentary on this game. Kansas won big is all you need to know. Overall: Nothing terribly exciting this morning with all the favorites winning. Xavier's comeback prevented what would have been a disaster for the A10. The afteroon sessions beginning as a I write this should offer some more competitive basketball.

Poll: What Will be Thursday's Big Upset?

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:06:24 -0700

Picture of the Day: Dionte Christmas a Heavyweight Champ?

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 09:07:14 -0700

Thanks to our friends over at Icon Sports Media, we now have access to thousands of great college basketball photos to use on the site. Each day, CHN will feature a Picture of the Day, which might include a newsworthy, funny, or simply interesting subject. At the bottom will be a caption or headline that might be informative or amusing. The possibilities are endless!

Dionte Christmas: Heavyweight Champion?

Was there a big time title fight in AC yesterday? No.. it's simply Temple star Dionte Christmas celebrated his teams impressive Atlantic 10 Championship win over St. Joseph's. Christmas scored 22 points in the final, as the Owls return to the Big Dance for the first time since 2001.

- Check out recent Pictures of the Day!

- Also check out the Cheerleader of the Day!

Saturday Night Fever: Conference Tournament Update

Shawn Siegel — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 18:40:19 -0700

Some thoughts on an exciting Championship Week Saturday.. with an eye on the Big Dance: - Tulsa learned in a big way this morning that Memphis owns the CUSA. Having won 10 of 13 games, and with 20 overall, the Golden Hurricanes are hoping they've done enough to impress the NIT selection committee. Regardless, the emergence of 7-0 big man Jerome Jordan is a great sign for the future. - Give Va Tech credit for taking UNC down to the wire.. but don't give them too much credit. The Hokies overall resume is virtually identical to Creighton, but they're only getting a look because of their ACC affiliation. Creighton has one more overall win, the same 1-6 record against Top 50 teams, and both finished 7-5 in their last 12. Yet you don't hear anyone claiming the Jays should be dancing.. - Bo Ryan is a coaching genius. With Indiana and MSU expected to be the top dogs in the Big Ten, it is Ryan's unheralded Badgers that will most likely walk away with the title. Wisconsin's been to the title game 4 of the last 5 years, and this year's team features no one that the average sports fan has the slightest clue about. - The real question though is whether any Big Ten team can get past the Sweet Sixteen? - If Illinois wins the Big Ten, they should immediately change the rule giving automatic bids to conference champions. - Duke proved what we already knew about them.. that they're going to live and die by the three. 6 for 26 won't cut it for a team with no inside presence.. and you have to figure they're going to run into a similar rut in week two of the tourney that will be damning. - As soon as you get your bracket, just mark down UCLA in the Final Four and realize you have at least one guaranteed lock. The Bruins just find ways to win. Today, it was Darren Collison (taking a career high 22 shots) and offensive rebounds that pushed them over Stanford. Tomorrow, it could just as easily be another formula. - Early on, it looked like St. Joseph's was going to run away with the A10 title. But Temple's two leaders, Mark Tyndale and Dionte Christmas, kept on fighting and ultimately the tides turned. St. Joe's (particularly Pat Calathes) ran out of gas and they foolishy stopped getting the ball in Ahmad Nivins' hands. Now Temple has secured a spot in the field for the first time since 2001, while the the Hawks will be sweating it out tomorrow. It would be fitting, after all the ups and downs in the A10 (teams like Dayton, URI, and UMASS rising and falling all year), that the league whose numbers are right there with the Big Six still ended up with 3 bids. - Good to see Kent State taking care of business in the MAC, ensuring that an undeserving Akron team doesn't steal a bid. I've been admittedly slow to jump on Kent State's bandwagon, but you can't argue with a 28-6 record. - Wink Adams completed an impressive MWC tournament by scoring 23 in UNLV's championship win over BYU. Adams averaged 24 ppg as the Rebels won their second straight conference crown. I'm not a huge fan of UNLV or BYU, but both have top 30 RPI's and will get Top 10 seeds in the tourney. I just wouldn't expect anything more than a win out of either. - Georgia's currently up on Mississippi State as I write this. Perhaps there would be no greater proof of the SEC's mediocrity this year than one of Georgia or Arkansas being the title holder. Tennessee's loss to Arkansas perhaps opens the door for an outsider to steal a #1 seed.. but UNC, Memphis, UNC, and Tennessee are still my choices. - I have nothing against NMSU.. but thank God Boise State won the WAC title. If you get lucky enough to host the conference championship for no reason, and you get lucky enough to get into a 3rd OT despite getting outplayed most of the night.. and you still lose.. then you don't belong anywhere near the Big Dance. - Houston has apparently accepted a bid into the new College Basketball Invitational.. the first of what should be many interesting twists and turns in the life of this new tournament's rivalry with the NIT. - I have to own up to my mistakes.. and underestimating Pittsburgh is one of my biggest. Before the season, I didn't even think this team would make the Big Dance.. and we ranked them pretty low in our preseason rankings. Even coming into tonight, I favored Georgetown heavily.. and was wrong again. Like Bo Ryan above, it's becoming clear you don't mess with Coach Dixon.

Team of the Moment: Temple

Raphielle Johnson — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 17:31:22 -0700

Temple 21-12 (11-5 Atlantic 10) Computer numbers (through Friday courtesy of kenpom.com): RPI 56, SOS 49 Result today: Defeated St. Joseph's 69-64 to win the Atlantic 10 Championship. The Temple Owls, a mere afterthought in all this bubble talk the past few weeks, have punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament with tonight's win over Big 5 rival St. Joseph's to win the Atlantic 10. Dionte Christmas led Fran Dunphy's Owls with 22 points, and guards Chris Clark (10 points) and Ryan Brooks (15 points) made up for the subpar offensive night experienced by Mark Tyndale (1-8 from the field, 8 points). But Tyndale's complete stat line seems to be a microcosm of what the Owls have done during their last twelve games (10-2 record) to get to this point: whatever it takes. Tyndale finished with nine rebounds and seven assists, and Temple went 9-18 from behind the arc while holding the Hawks to 5-21 from distance. Now that they're in, the question regards city rival St. Joe's: are they suddenly on the outside looking in? In my opinion, they're currently one of the 34 best at-large teams in the country. But I'm not in that room. The Hawks will have a long 21 hours ahead of them. On the clock: UNLV. One at-large bid could now be off the table thanks to Temple, so the Runnin' Rebels would be best served to knock off BYU in the Mountain West final. They currently lead 50-47 with about ten minutes remaining.

2008 NCAA Tournament Capsule: Temple

Joel Welser — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 12:08:54 -0700

Temple Owls

Atlantic 10 (21-12, 11-5)

Big Wins: 1/16 Xavier (78-59), 2/10 Massachusetts (80-70), 3/2 at St. Joseph’s (57-56)

Bad Losses: 11/16 vs Charleston (76-79), 2/6 at Richmond (58-64), 2/23 Fordham (76-78)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2001, Elite Eight loss to Michigan State

Coach: Fran Dunphy (1-9 in 9 NCAA appearances)

Probable Starters:

Luis Guzman, Sophomore, Guard, 4.0 ppg, 2.3 apg

Dionte Christmas, Junior, Guard, 20.2 ppg, 2.5 apg, 6.0 rpg

Mark Tyndale, Senior, Forward, 15.9 ppg, 4.3 apg, 7.2 rpg

Lavoy Allen, Freshman, Forward, 8.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg

Sergio Olmos, Junior, Center, 5.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg

Key Roleplayers:

Ryan Brooks, Sophomore, Guard, 8.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg

Chris Clark, Senior, Guard, 7.7 ppg, 1.8 apg

Semaj Inge, Junior, Guard, 3.1 ppg, 1.2 apg

Why They Can Surprise:

If there is one thing Temple does well, it is shoot the ball. While Mark Tyndale will take it right to the rim, Dionte Christmas, Ryan Brooks and Chris Clark depend on their shooting touch. Christmas knocks down over three long balls a game and hits 38.0 percent of his attempts. Brooks and Clark are not quite as prolific with their shooting, but both are certainly viable threats from beyond the arc.

Luis Guzman has spent much of the year starting at the point guard position. He is only fourth on the team in assists, but he does what the team needs him to do. Clark, a 5-8 senior, will spell him at the point and has done a great job embracing his role off the bench. He even came off the bench during a must win senior night game against Duquesne for the good of the team. He plays his basketball just like that…very unselfishly. It is Tyndale and Christmas who lead the team in assists and having all those ball handlers on the floor is very good for the turnover numbers.

Why They Can Disappoint:

Just like practically every other stat, Christmas and Tyndale lead the team in rebounding. That is not such a good thing though. Starting forwards Lavoy Allen and Sergio Olmos are not horrible on the glass, but they could do more. Those two also run into some foul trouble quite often and there is not any depth behind them. Tyndale, at 6-5, will have to spend some time at the four spot for that reason. Last season the defense was the worst it has been in a long time. A lot of that had to do with Coach Fran Dunphy’s slightly faster style of play, but it was still a problem. This year Temple’s defense is a little better, but there is plenty of room to improve.

Who To Watch:

The Owls live and die with Christmas and Tyndale. There is nothing they do not do. Christmas shoots a ton of three’s, grabs rebounds and dishes out assists. Tyndale gets to the basket and does all the other things too. Both players average almost 38 minutes per game and you can bet there will be very, very few times they are off the floor in the tournament. As long as those two are effective, Temple will be a dangerous team. However, it can become too easy for defenses to key in on those two if nobody else is scoring.

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 73.1 (94^th in nation, 7^th in conference)

Scoring Defense: 69.5 (192, 9)

Field-Goal Percentage: 47.4 (31, 3)

Field-Goal Defense: 42.8 (125, 7)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.9 (62, 5)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 37.4 (76, 6)

Free-Throw Percentage: 74.7 (23, 3)

Rebound Margin: -1.4 (228, 10)

Assists Per Game: 15.2 (55, 4)

Turnovers Per Game: 12.6 (37, 2)

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Game Predictions: SJU/Temple, UCLA/Stanford

Shawn Siegel — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 08:55:30 -0700

Saint Joseph's (21-11) vs Temple (20-12)

6:00 PM

Many think that St. Joe's locked up a tourney bid by beating Xavier yesterday.. but I'm not so sure. If Temple wins, the committee may be reluctant to give the A10 a third bid, especially in light of the WCC already getting 3 teams in. Either way, this should be an extremely close and competitive game. Both of their previous meetings were decided by a single point.. and there's no reason not to expect a hard-fought, neck and neck game throughout. This is a must watch game.. but unfortunately most won't see it.

Prediction: Saint Joseph's

#11 Stanford (26-6) at #2 UCLA (30-3)

6:00 PM CBS

Some have the perception that conference tournaments don't matter for Top 25 teams, but extreme effort and a high level of play can be expected in the Pac-10 title game. Stanford is still bitter about their controversial OT loss to the Bruins just 10 days back.. and is hungry to exact revenge. Considering UCLA is the #2 team in the country and the game is in LA, its a testament to the respect Stanford has that they're only 3 point underdogs. The Brook Lopez/Kevin Love matchup is as good as you'll find in college basketball.

Prediction: UCLA

Boise State (24-8) vs New Mexico State (21-13)

9:00 PM ESPN2

Its certainly been a disappointing year for the WAC.. no serious at-large contenders and an eventual champion that might be seeded below the likes of Austin Peay, Cornell, Belmont, etc. New Mexico State has been playing good ball of late though, winners in 10 of 11, and they get to host the Championship game. Due to the home-court advantage, the Lobos are heavy 7 point favorites. Based on how other non-neutral final games have gone (American over Colgate, USD over Gonzaga, etc), its a no-brainer to go with the home team here.

Prediction: New Mexico State

Other Big Games:

UNLV vs BYU - The MWC Title game (BYU)

Akron vs Kent State - The MAC Title Game.. can Akron steal a bid? (Kent State)

Pittsburgh vs Georgetown - Can G'Town be stopped? No (Georgetown)

Previous Game of the Night (Predictions, 97-56)

March 13th - Ohio State vs Michigan State (2-1)

March 12th - Arizona State at USC (2-1)

March 12th - Syracuse vs Villanova (2-1)

March 11th - IUPUI at Oral Roberts (3-0)

March 10th - Gonzaga at San Diego (1-2)

March 9th - Florida at Kentucky (1-2)

March 8th - UNC at Duke (2-1)

March 5th - Tennessee at Florida (2-1)

March 4th - UNLV at New Mexico (3-0)

March 3rd - Texas Tech at Kansas (3-0)

March 2nd - Clemson at Maryland (1-2)