The Liacouras Center should be rocking tonight with a sold-out crowd in excess of 10,000 on hand to watch the Temple men's basketball team host Big Five rival and top-ranked Villanova.
Not feeling it.
Not yet, and with the clock closing in on tonight’s Big Five clash at the Liacouras Center, not likely, either. Usually that “upset” vibe kicks in by now, the feel-good tingle that shoots up and down my spine, signaling that something special is about to happen … especially with a personal investment. But, alas, as the men’s basketball team representing my one alma mater, Temple University, gets set to host the No. 1 team in the nation, Villanova, which also happens to be the Owls’ most bitter city rival, got nothing, nada, zilch. Dammit … Thing is, the lacking “inspiration” has everything to do with Temple for me, and nothing with ’Nova. The Wildcats, obviously, are very good. They’re talented. They’re battle-tested, playing in, well, let’s be honest, what has been the most entertaining college basketball conference in the country this season, the Big East – sorry, Power-5 schools; no offense intended, but take it anyway if you wish. But, right now, at this point, they’re nothing special. If anything, that ranking should draw some serious eyebrow raises by anyone who grasps that coach Jay Wright’s squad got manhandled twice this season, against Oklahoma and Virginia. Sure, both are high-quality outfits, worthy of top-10 status. Still, a No. 1 team checking in with uglier-than-they-read 23- and 11-point losses in a season? Seems a stretch. Regardless, the ’Cats ain’t the issue with our “void” here. The Owls are. Winners of five straight, a run that has thrust them into the highly improbable position of first place in the American Athletic Conference, the Owls don’t seem to have that home-run hitter, that big puncher who can rewrite the predetermined script with some wonderful talent and other-worldly timing. Put it this way, there isn’t a hoops version of Jahad Thomas on the current Temple roster … and definitely not the second coming of Khalif Wyatt. Instead, the Owls have kinda embraced the rope-a-dope philosophy throughout 2015-16. Thus far it has served them pretty well, as wins against ranked teams Southern Methodist, Connecticut and Cincinnati will attest. Further, Temple topped the latter two each a second time when they weren’t in the national polls. So, it has something going on … only not able to put the finger on it here. Which is probably why the upset vibe is missing for this one. Doesn’t feel anything like this past fall before Temple took on Penn State and ended a 74-year drought against its football in-state Big Brother. Nothing like prior to the Owls hosting America’s most loved and hated team, Duke, four years ago at the Wells Fargo Center, either, when they posted arguably the best of their basketball upsets of top-10 teams in the last eight seasons, a run that has seen Temple pull off at least one in seven of those. Yep, just not feeling it. But three words provide hope: Been wrong before. - Jack Kerwin | ydjack1@gmail.com |
BREAKING IT DOWN
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Records: Villanova 22-3, Temple 16-8.
Best wins: Villanova avenged its only Big East loss with a 12-point spanking February 6 of then-No. 11 Providence and likely NBA lottery pick Kris Dunn on the road behind double-doubles from Daniel Reynolds, Kris Jenkins and Josh Hart; Temple knocked No. 8 SMU off its unbeaten perch with a stunning 89-80 victory January 24 behind Devin Coleman’s 23 points on 8-for-8 shooting, including all seven he took from beyond the arc.
Reality check: This does not have the same kinda cachet as the last matchup of two Philly teams squaring off with one of them ranked No. 1 in the nation. Back on February 10, 1988, the top-ranked Owls withstood a game No. 20 ’Nova, 98-86, behind PG Howie Evans 20 assists and 15 points. Two future NBA lottery picks played for Temple in that one: Mark Macon and Tim Perry. The Wildcats had a player in Doug West who went on to have an even better pro career that either of them. Both squads ultimately ended up reaching the Elite Eight of that season’s NCAA Tournament. The current teams would be hard-pressed to ultimately stack up to those two.
The skinny: Both teams can, and often do, go 7-8 deep during the course of games, but both Villanova’s Jay Wright and Temple’s Fran Dunphy rely heavily on their starters. All five of those for the ’Cats average in double figures, with Hart leading the way at 15.2 ppg. But it’s probably 6-foot-11 center Daniel Ochefu (25 points and 9 rebounds in Saturday’s win against St. John’s) who will draw the most attention from the Owls. Oddly, they’re better equipped to handle him than most with burly F Jaylen Bond inside and fellow 6-8, 240-pounder Mark Williams available off the bench. Temple’s Quenton DeCosey (16.6 ppg) will be the top scorer on the floor, but sophomore teammate Obi Enechionyia and ’Nova freshman Jalen Brunson have the most potential to steal the show in this one.
Best wins: Villanova avenged its only Big East loss with a 12-point spanking February 6 of then-No. 11 Providence and likely NBA lottery pick Kris Dunn on the road behind double-doubles from Daniel Reynolds, Kris Jenkins and Josh Hart; Temple knocked No. 8 SMU off its unbeaten perch with a stunning 89-80 victory January 24 behind Devin Coleman’s 23 points on 8-for-8 shooting, including all seven he took from beyond the arc.
Reality check: This does not have the same kinda cachet as the last matchup of two Philly teams squaring off with one of them ranked No. 1 in the nation. Back on February 10, 1988, the top-ranked Owls withstood a game No. 20 ’Nova, 98-86, behind PG Howie Evans 20 assists and 15 points. Two future NBA lottery picks played for Temple in that one: Mark Macon and Tim Perry. The Wildcats had a player in Doug West who went on to have an even better pro career that either of them. Both squads ultimately ended up reaching the Elite Eight of that season’s NCAA Tournament. The current teams would be hard-pressed to ultimately stack up to those two.
The skinny: Both teams can, and often do, go 7-8 deep during the course of games, but both Villanova’s Jay Wright and Temple’s Fran Dunphy rely heavily on their starters. All five of those for the ’Cats average in double figures, with Hart leading the way at 15.2 ppg. But it’s probably 6-foot-11 center Daniel Ochefu (25 points and 9 rebounds in Saturday’s win against St. John’s) who will draw the most attention from the Owls. Oddly, they’re better equipped to handle him than most with burly F Jaylen Bond inside and fellow 6-8, 240-pounder Mark Williams available off the bench. Temple’s Quenton DeCosey (16.6 ppg) will be the top scorer on the floor, but sophomore teammate Obi Enechionyia and ’Nova freshman Jalen Brunson have the most potential to steal the show in this one.
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