Around The Atlantic 10 (Jan. '10 - Week 4)

Here's a look at the current standings in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Stay tuned for Power Rankings and more updates as the conference season progresses:

Team		Overall Record
Charlotte		(16-5)(6-1)
#15 Temple		(18-4)(6-1)
Xavier		(14-6)(6-1)
Rhode Island		(17-3)(5-2)
Richmond		(16-6)(5-2)
Dayton		(15-6)(4-3)
Saint Louis		(12-8)(3-3)
La Salle		(11-10)(3-4)
St. Bonaventure		(9-10)(2-4)
Saint Joseph's		(8-12)(2-4)
George Washington		(12-8)(2-5)
Massachusetts		(8-13)(2-5)
Duquesne		(10-10)(1-5)
Fordham		(2-17)(0-7)

Things are starting to shake up in the conference, but there's plenty more basketball to be played. We'll keep you updated on the latest happenings in the Atlantic 10.

Upcoming Matchup: Temple vs. Duquesne

[PREVIEW] Temple vs. Duquesne
[Q&A] Getting to Know Duquesne (TBD)
[POD] Audio broadcast preview of the game
[LIVE] Live blog of Temple - Duquesne game
[POST GAME] Thread for post game reactions
[RECAP] Temple vs. Duquesne

Stay updated with The Owl's Nest by following us on Twitter.

Whatcha Think? Temple vs. La Salle

Temple Hopes to Bounce Back From Loss

After a dissapointing and discourging loss to Charlotte, the Temple Owls will look to bounce back and head home for a big five matchup against the La Salle Explorers.

The Owl's Nest will give you an in-depth look at Saturday night's outing for the Temple Men's Basketball team.

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#15 Temple Owls vs. La Salle Explorers
The Liacouras Center (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Television: (TV) ESPN2 | (RADIO) 1210 WPHT
Tip-off: 12:00 PM

The head to head matchup has Temple leading 60-45. Last year's matchup featured a split between the teams, with the Explorers winning the second game at the Liacouras Center 70-63.

La Salle Explorers

Overall Record: (11-9)(3-3)
2008 Record: (18-13)(9-7)
Last Game: (80-73 win over Fordham)

Key Losses: None
Key Returns: (G) Rodney Green, (G) Kimmani Barrett

La Salle is a team that consists of both veteran and youth leadership. Guards Rodney Green and Kimmani Barrett lead the Explorer backcourt with their contributions, but are assisted by the developing post game.

The Explorers have been challenged several times this year, playing against teams like Kansas, Xavier, and South Carolina. Although these three games all resulted in losses, the team has been able to learn from these opportunities to give future opponents tough challeneges.

La Salle's RPI current sits at number 12.

Field Goal Percentage: 46%
3PT Field Goal Percentage: 38%
Free Throw Percentage: 67%

As a team, the La Salle Explorers average 72 points per game, and see scoring from nearing everyone on the team that sees efficient playing time.

Here's an idea of La Salle's scoring, as we refer to their statistics from their previous game against Fordham:

Aaric Murray (24 points, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks)
Jerrell Williams (19 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists)
Rodney Green (16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists)
Yves Mekongo Mbala (11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists)

The Explorers have a number of contributors:

Leading the team in scoring is senior guard Rodney Green. Green has been a proven playmaker for the last couple of years for La Salle, and continues to contribute great numbers. He is currently averaging 19 points per game along with 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

Kimmani Barrett is the other half of this talented Explorer backcourt. Also in his senior year, Barrett averages 13 points and four assists for his team. The tandem of Green and Barrett has proven to be very challenging to guard.

One of the newest additions to this team is freshman Aaric Murray, who has definitely lived up to the majority of his expectations. The 6'10 first year center scores 13 points and pulls down 7 boards per outing.

La Salle's defense gives up 71 points per game; however, the team does average 5 blocks and 7 steals.

Please be sure to visit the following La Salle sites for more on the Explorers:

GoExplorers.com | LaSalle-Explorers.com | ExplorerHoopReport.com
#15 Temple Owls

Overall Record: (17-4)(5-1)
2008 Record (20-12)(11-5)
Last Game: (74-64 loss to Charlotte)

Key Losses: (G) Dionte Christmas, (G) Semaj Inge, (C) Sergio Olmos
Key Returns: (G) Ryan Brooks, (F) Lavoy Allen, (G) Juan Fernandez

Temple has had a tough out of conference schedule leading up to Atlantic 10 Conference play, and competition has yet to light up a bit. The Owls have seen the likes of three Big East teams (Villanova, St. John's, and Georgetown), a Big 12 team (Kansas), and teams from the ACC and Big Ten. The Owls have been challenged early on and have been very successful thus far. Temple's Strength of Schedule is currently ranked 27th in the country.

According to RealTimeRPI, Temple's RPI is currently ranked as 16th in the country.

Field Goal Percentage: 42%
3PT Field Goal Percentage: 34%
Free Throw Percentage: 69%

As a team, the Owls average 65 points per outing. This comes from the contributions of several players.

Here's Temple's last top performers in their game against Charlotte:

Ryan Brooks (20 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists)
Luis Guzman (14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists)
Lavoy Allen (12 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists)
Scootie Randall (8 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist)

Temple's leading scorer is senior guard Ryan Brooks. He is both athletic in the scoring column as well as the rebounding stat. Brooks averages 16 points and 5 rebounds.

Guard Juan Fernandez is the second leading scorer, averaging 14 points and 4 assists. Fernandez was in foul trouble early on against Charlotte and could not contribute the number he would have liked.

Lavoy Allen is Temple's third leading scorer and top rebounder. Averaging 11 points and 10 rebounds, Allen has been a force to reckon with all year long.

The Owls' defense gives up 56 points per game, and as a team Temple averages roughly 5 steals and 3 blocks per game.

Predicted Starting 5

Here's our prediction of Saturday's starting five for the Temple Owls:

(G) Juan Fernandez
(G) Ryan Brooks
(G) Luis Guzman
(F) Lavoy Allen
(C) Micheal Eric

Key Players (TEM): Juan Fernandez is going to be needed in this game, as his missing presence against Charlotte is just one of many reasons Temple was upset. If he is able to stay out of foul trouble and get into the mix with Ryan Brooks and Lavoy Allen, Temple could bounce back nicely from Wednesday.

Key Players (LU): Aaric Murray is going to have his hands full in the paint when he takes on Lavoy Allen, but there's no challenge the freshman playmaker isn't willing to face. He and Yves Mekongo Mbala will need to solidify a post game presence against the Owls.

We'll have more in store for tomorrow's meeting with the Explorers as we approach gametime!

Upcoming Matchup: #15 Temple vs. La Salle

[PREVIEW] Temple vs. La Salle
[Q&A] Getting to Know La Salle (Q&A)
[POD] Audio broadcast preview of the game
[LIVE] Live blog of Temple - La Salle game
[POST GAME] Thread for post game reactions
[RECAP] Temple vs. La Salle

Stay updated with The Owl's Nest by following us on Twitter.

Whatcha Think? Temple vs. Charlotte

Live Blog: Temple vs. Charlotte

Temple Travels to Meet the 49ers

After somewhat of a struggle in a victory over Fordham, the Temple Owls will continue their schedule on the road when they head to North Carolina to take on Charlotte.

The Owl's Nest will give you an in-depth look at Wednesday night's outing for the Temple Men's Basketball team.

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#15 Temple Owls vs. Charlotte 49ers
Halton Arena (Charlotte, North Carolina)
Television: (TV) TCN | (RADIO) 1210 WPHT
Tip-off: 7:00 PM

The head to head matchup has Temple merely leading 5-4. Last year's matchup featured a dominating 80-53 Temple victory.

Charlotte 49ers

Overall Record: (14-5)(4-1)
2008 Record: (11-19)(5-11)
Last Game: (84-82 win over La Salle)

Key Losses: (F) Lamont Mack, (F) Charlie Coley
Key Returns: (G) DiJuan Harris, (F) An'Juan Wilderness

The Charlotte 49ers have not gotten to 14-5 so easily. In fact, the team has played against a number of talented teams. One of their victories comes against Louisville. Two of these losses come from ranked opponents-- Tennessee and Duke. RealTimeRPI ranked the 49ers' Strength of Schedule as number 109. These previous games only help the team as they prepare for yet another top program.

Charlotte's RPI current sits at number 49.

Field Goal Percentage: 43%
3PT Field Goal Percentage: 31%
Free Throw Percentage: 74%

As a team, the Charlotte 49ers average 75 points per game, and see scoring from nearing everyone on the team that sees efficient playing time.

Here's an idea of Charlotte's scoring, as we refer to their statistics from their previous game against La Salle:

Shamari Spears (22 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal)
Chris Braswell (21 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists)
Derrio Green (20 points, 1 rebound, 7 assists)
An'Juan Wilderness (13 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists)

The Charlotte 49ers have a number of contributors:

The team's leading scorer is Shamari Spears, who has picked up the majority of the scoring that was left behind by Lamont Mack. The forward averages 17 points and 6 rebounds per outing. Behind him is Derrio Green, who does a nice job of both scoring and distributing the ball. He averages 12 points and 3 assists per game himself.

Both of these guys are newcomers to the 49ers squad, and have filled in positively.

Charlotte's defense gives up 71 points per game; however, the team does average six blocks and four steals.

Please be sure to visit the following Charlotte sites for more on the 49ers:

Charlotte49ers.com | NinerNation.net | ScoutCharlotte.com
#15 Temple Owls

Overall Record: (19-5)(7-2)
2008 Record (20-12)(11-5)
Last Game: (71-54 loss to Richmond)

Key Losses: (G) Dionte Christmas, (G) Semaj Inge, (C) Sergio Olmos
Key Returns: (G) Ryan Brooks, (F) Lavoy Allen, (G) Juan Fernandez

Temple has had a tough out of conference schedule leading up to Atlantic 10 Conference play. The Owls have seen the likes of three Big East teams (Villanova, St. John's, and Georgetown), a Big 12 team (Kansas), and teams from the ACC and Big Ten. The Owls have been challenged early on and have been very successful thus far. Temple's Strength of Schedule is currently ranked 29th in the country.

The Owls have lost two of their last four games, and have become more vulnerable with Juan Fernandez being injured.

According to RealTimeRPI, Temple's RPI is currently ranked as 17th in the country.

Field Goal Percentage: 42%
3PT Field Goal Percentage: 35%
Free Throw Percentage: 69%

As a team, the Owls average 65 points per outing. This comes from the contributions of several players.

Here's Temple's last top performers in their game against Fordham:

Lavoy Allen (17 points, 19 rebounds, 3 steals)
Ramone Moore (17 points, 1 rebound)
Luis Guzman (7 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists)
Rahlir Jefferson (5 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist)

Temple's leading scorer is Ryan Brooks, who struggled against Fordham. He is both athletic in the scoring column as well as the rebounding stat. Brooks averages 16 points and 5 rebounds.

Guard Juan Fernandez is the second leading scorer, averaging 14 points and 4 assists. His shooting has improved tremendously and has been a major factor in his success.

Lavoy Allen is Temple's third leading scorer and top rebounder. Averaging 11 points and 10 rebounds, Allen has been a force to reckon with all year long.

Temple's bench has picked up a large amount of the production when Juan Fernandez went down. Ramone Moore, Rahlir Jefferson, TJ DiLeo, and Scootie Randall have seen increased minutes for the Owls and have taken advantage of the opportunities.

The Owls' defense gives up 56 points per game, which is over 15 points less than Charlotte's average. Temple averages roughly 5 steals and 3 blocks per game.

Predicted Starting 5

Here's our prediction of Wednesday's starting five for the Temple Owls:

(G) Juan Fernandez
(G) Ryan Brooks
(G) Luis Guzman
(F) Lavoy Allen
(C) Micheal Eric

Key Players (TEM):

Key Players (CHA):

We'll have more in store for Wednesday's meeting with the 49ers as we approach gametime!

Getting to Know Charlotte (Q&A)

For every matchup, we like to give opposing blogger's a chance to tell us about their team and find out their input on that upcoming game.

Today, we had the opportunity to Jim of the well known Charlotte blog The Gold Mine a few questions about his 49ers thus far in the season.

The Owl's Nest: Through 19 games, the Charlotte 49ers have done a complete 180 degree turnaround from where they were last year. What has allowed the 49ers to generally be more successful this year?

The Gold Mine: Two things: New talent and healthy players. The 49ers were hammered by injuries last season - freshman shooting guard Shamarr Bowden was out with knee injury before season started; point guard Mike Gerrity quit the team before the season started; sophomore forward Charles Dewhurst lost midway through the season to knee injury; and forward An'Juan Wilderness didn't practice most of the second half of the season with nagging hamstring injury.

This season the 49ers added Boston College transfer Shamari Spears, who sat out last season because of the transfer, and freshman forward Chris Braswell, a highly touted recruit from Hargrave Military Academy. Spears was expected to be good, while Braswell's transition to Division I basketball has been very fast. Also sophomore transfer Derrio Green turned out to be far more than a backup PG for DiJuan Harris - he is an exceptional shooter and slasher.

TON: You guys are one of several Atlantic 10 teams that went out during the non-conference portion of the season and were tested. What have playing against talented teams like Duke, Louisville, and Tennessee done for the 49ers?

TGM: While some of the games - Duke and Tennessee - turned into hard losses for Charlotte, facing that level of competition early in the season greatly tested the 49ers' new players as well as the team's chemistry. So far this season Charlotte has bounced back from a loss with a win all but once. Getting solid wins on the road was also a key confidence booster, particularly at Hofstra and Louisville.

TON: Charlotte lost it's only double-digit scorer in Lamont Mack to graduation and somewhat recently saw Shamarr Bowden seek a transfer; however, a number of player have stepped up their game and become key contributors. Who would you consider fills the leadership role, and what players have become the playmakers for this program?

TGM: I would say senior point guard DiJuan Harris is clearly the leader of this team and while fellow senior Ian Andersen's role has greatly diminished with the addition of new players, he is also a big "cheerleader" in pointing out mistakes and offering encouragement to the younger players. The way Shamari Spears handles himself on the court - a kind of 'never-back-down' attitude - seems to have spread throughout the team.

TON: As a whole, what would you say this team's strengths and weaknesses on both sides of the ball are?

TGM: Charlotte has several offensive weapons, which I think makes them very dangerous. To illustrate, in the 49ers' win at La Salle, Charlotte had three players score 20 or more points while a fourth, An'Juan WIlderness, scored 13, including the last seven in the game for Charlotte. As is common with Bobby Lutz coached teams, the 49ers try to change defenses as the situation warrants, and are very efficient in transition. On the downside, while Charlotte definitely has the inside players for a potent inside attack, the 49ers sometimes struggle in a half court, particularly if their shooters aren't hitting to help draw double teams away from Spears and Braswell. One thing about this Charlotte team, it continues to get better as the season goes on.

TON: How do you feel Charlotte matches up against a Temple team with a lot of diversity on the offensive side, as well as an unified and dangerous defense?

TGM: Temple's tough half-court man-to-man defense will likely present a problem for Charlotte. Talent-wide I feel the programs are similar, with the 49ers having an edge in guys who can score the ball. As has become the cause in games such as this, if Charlotte can hit the outside shot consistently, it has a chance to win.

TON: Any thoughts or predictions for Saturday?

TGM: With a packed house (or close to it) and Charlotte playing its best basketball of the season, I'm going with a 68-64 Charlotte win.

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions, Jim. Please be sure to check out his blog, The Gold Mine for all Charlotte 49er news.

Around The Atlantic 10 (Jan. '10 - Week 3)

Here's a look at the current standings in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Stay tuned for Power Rankings and more updates as the conference season progresses:

Team		Overall Record
#16 Temple		(17-3)(5-0)
Xavier		(13-6)(5-1)
Charlotte		(14-5)(4-1)
Saint Louis		(12-6)(3-1)
Rhode Island		(15-3)(3-2)
Dayton		(14-5)(3-2)
La Salle		(10-9)(2-3)
St. Bonaventure		(9-9)(2-3)
Saint Joseph's/td>		(7-11)(2-3)
George Washington		(11-7)(1-4)
Massachusetts		(7-10)(1-3)
Duquesne		(10-9)(1-4)
Massachusetts		(7-12)(1-4)
Fordham		(2-16)(0-6)

It's very early in the conference season, and there's plenty of time for things to shake up. We'll keep you updated on the latest happenings in the Atlantic 10.

Upcoming Matchup: Temple vs. Charlotte

[PREVIEW] Temple vs. Charlotte
[Q&A] Getting to Know Charlotte (Q&A)
[POD] Audio broadcast preview of the game
[LIVE] Live blog of Temple - Charlotte game
[POST GAME] Thread for post game reactions
[RECAP] Temple vs. Charlotte

Stay updated with The Owl's Nest by following us on Twitter.

Owls Overcome Struggle to Beat Fordham

The Fordham Rams gave Temple a tough time early, being down just 3 points at half time.

The Owls struggled to generate offense through the entire first half of the game, but turned things around to eventually take control and claim the victory.

Lavoy Allen was held scoreless for the first time this season and saw only a few minutes of action during the second half of play. Juan Fernandez led the Owls in scoring, but came out early when he was poked to the eye. Ryan Brooks also struggled to find the basket in this game as he scored just over half is normal average.

Just beating the first half buzzer, Fordham's Danny Thompson connected from the corner for a three pointer that put the Rams down by just three points at the half. In front of a home crowd, Fordham was in a position to possibly knock off the #16 team in the country.

Fran Dunphy altered the lineup during the second half, playing ten players deep into the bench-- and it paid off.

Temple's scoring picked up when Scootie Randall, Ramone Moore, and TJ DiLeo entered the game for the Owls. The three guards scored a combined 23 points that helped propel the team to victory. Juan Fernandez scored the team's first 8 of 10 points in the second half, but was poked in the eye and left the game early during all of that momentum.

Here's a look at Temple's top performers:

Juan Fernandez (13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists)
Scootie Randall (12 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal)
Ryan Brooks (9 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists)
Micheal Eric (9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists)

Although Juan Fernandez departed from the game early, he still managed to lead the team in scoring with just 13 points due to the struggles of Lavoy Allen and Ryan Brooks. Scootie Randall scored a season high 12 points with four three pointers that came at crucial times during this ballgame. Ryan Brooks managed to score 9 points of his own, but was absent during the majority of the first half of play.

The Fordham Rams put up a strong fight during the first half of this game, but it just wasn't enough to keep up with Temple's overall endurance. The Rams accomplished a number of achievements during the game.

Here's a look at Fordham's top performers:

Chris Gaston (16 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks)
Brenton Butler (9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists)
Fahro Allhodzic (5 points, 5 rebounds)
Rayner Moquete (5 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists)

The Rams' defense held Lavoy Allen scoreless and limited his effectiveness early on. Guards Ryan Brooks and Juan Fernandez struggled to score in this matchup as well.

Chris Gaston once again proved that he is one of the dominant forward in the league. His ability to drive the basketball and beat an isolated defender separates him from other average 6'10 players. He led his team in scoring, putting down 16 points on the stat sheet. He recorded another double double in the process, grabbing 10 boards.

Temple (17-3)(5-0) will stay on the road and play the Charlotte 49ers this Thursday.

Fordham (2-16)(0-6) returns to action as well plays against La Salle this Thursday.

Whatcha Think? Temple vs. Fordham

Live Blog: #16 Temple vs. Fordham

[PODCAST] Temple vs. Fordham Preview

Owls in an "Empire State of Mind"

After Wednesday's key victory of the Xavier Musketeers, the #16 Temple Owls will head up to the Bronx to play the Fordham Rams.

The Owl's Nest will give you an in-depth look at Saturday afternoon's outing for the Temple Men's Basketball team.

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#16 Temple Owls vs. Fordham Rams
Rose Hill Gymnasium (Bronx, New York)
Television: (TV) N/A | (RADIO) 1210 WPHT
Tip-off: 1:00 PM

The head to head matchup has Temple leading the series 35-13. Last year's matchup featured a dominating 72-45 Temple victory.

Fordham Rams

Overall Record: (2-15)(0-5)
2008 Record: (3-25)(1-15)
Last Game: (78-45 loss to Saint Louis)

Key Losses: (F) Chris Bethel, (G) Mike Moore, (G) Jio Fontan
Key Returns: (G) Brenton Butler

Despite another disappointing season, the Fordham Rams continue to challenge themselves year in and year out by playing talented teams. The Rams have played several Big East teams (Villanova and St. John's). Fordham has a long road ahead of them as well, as the conference schedule gets deeper and tougher for them. Their overall Strength of Schedule sits at 125th in the country.

Fordham's RPI is currently ranked as 296th in the country. The combined RPI of their two victories averages out to 185, and their combined record is 23-14.

Field Goal Percentage: 37%
3PT Field Goal Percentage: 28%
Free Throw Percentage: 64%

As a team, the Rams average 63 points per game. This is just two points less than what Temple averages.

Here's an idea of Fordham's scoring, as we refer to their statistics from their previous game against Saint Louis:

Lance Brown (15 points, 8 rebounds)
Chris Gaston (10 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist)
Brenton Butler (7 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist)
Danny Thompson (5 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist)

The Fordham Rams have a number of contributors:

Freshman forward Chris Gaston has been all the talk in the Bronx as he leads this team in scoring in just his first year of collegiate ball. The 6'7 rook is one of only several players in the league that even averages a double-double. Gaston averages 17 points a game. He is not only a terrific scorer, but also a tremendous rebounder. Chris Gaston leads the Rams in this category also, with 11 boards per outing.

Senior guard Brenton Butler leads the Fordham backcourt as the team's second leading scorer. The 6'2 Butler averages 16 points per game, along with four rebounds and three assists.

Defensively, the Rams give up 13 points more than their average (76 points per game). In addition the team averages 7 steals and 4 blocks per game.

Please be sure to visit the following Fordham sites for more on the Rams:

FordhamSports.com | FordhamFans.com
#16 Temple Owls

Overall Record: (16-3)(4-0)
2008 Record (20-12)(11-5)
Last Game: (77-72 win over Xavier)

Key Losses: (G) Dionte Christmas, (G) Semaj Inge, (C) Sergio Olmos
Key Returns: (G) Ryan Brooks, (F) Lavoy Allen, (G) Juan Fernandez

Temple has had a tough out of conference schedule leading up to Atlantic 10 Conference play. The Owls have seen the likes of three Big East teams (Villanova, St. John's, and Georgetown), a Big 12 team (Kansas), and teams from the ACC and Big Ten. The Owls have been challenged early on and have been very successful thus far.

Temple's RPI is currently ranked as 8th in the country. The Strength of Schedule is ranked 15th in the country.

Field Goal Percentage: 42%
3PT Field Goal Percentage: 34%
Free Throw Percentage: 69%

As a team, the Owls average 65 points per outing. This comes from the contributions of several players.

Here's Temple's last top performers in their game against Xavier:

Ryan Brooks (22 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist)
Lavoy Allen (16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists)
Juan Fernandez (15 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists)
Luis Guzman (10 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists)

Leading the Owls in scoring is guard Ryan Brooks. He is an excellent shooter, averaging 16 points a game but also 5 rebounds. Not far behind is Juan Fernandez, who is primarily a great passer but has evolved into a great three pointer shooter; Fernandez averages 13 points and 3 assists per game. Lavoy Allen is Temple's third leading scorer and the leading rebounder. He averages a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds per game.

Temple received an extremely large boost in scoring when all three of these guys showed up against Xavier. Having all three of these guys in double-digit scoring in one game has been very dangerous for opposing teams.

Temple's defense has been one of the many reasons for the team's success. Temple has given up just 56 points per game. On the stat sheet, the Owls average 5 steals and 3 blocks.

Predicted Starting 5

Here's our prediction of Saturday's starting five for the Temple Owls:

(G) Juan Fernandez
(G) Ryan Brooks
(G) Luis Guzman
(F) Lavoy Allen
(C) Micheal Eric

Key Players (TEM): It will be another battle of the bigs, as Lavoy Allen gets set to take on another talented forward. Dealing with Chris Gaston won't be easy, and will be a thrill to watch.

Key Players (FU): Temple's key players for this game come down to defensive production. Temple will have to deal with three double digit scorers with over 15 points or more per average. Maintaining Gaston and Butler should be enough for this team.

We'll have more in store for Saturday's meeting with the Rams as we approach gametime!

Upcoming Matchup: #16 Temple vs. Fordham

[PREVIEW] Temple vs. Fordham
[Q&A] Getting to Know Fordham (Q&A TBD)
[POD] Audio broadcast preview of the game
[LIVE] Live blog of Temple - Fordham game
[POST GAME] Thread for post game reactions
[RECAP] Temple vs. Fordham

Stay updated with The Owl's Nest by following us on Twitter.

Owls Flying Solo In the Atlantic 10

With a down to the wire victory over the Xavier Musketeers, the Temple Owls have claimed sole possession of first place in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Against Massachusetts, three point shooting was spectacular. Against X, the Owls shot unbelievably from the field.

Temple was extremely deadly from the field against Xavier, shooting 29/49 (59%) as a team. With that, the Owls also shot 5/10 (50%) from three point range.

Ryan Brooks picked up exactly where he left off last Saturday, leading all scorers for the second game in a row. Lavoy Allen made up for his quiet outing by providing another key scoring outlet for the team.

Ryan Brooks (22 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist)
Lavoy Allen (16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists)
Juan Fernandez (15 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists)
Luis Guzman (10 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists)

Ryan Brooks (7/12) and Lavoy Allen (7/10) both shot over 50% on the night, providing plenty of points for the Owls. Along with Juan Fernandez and Luis Guzman, four of Temple's five starters managed to score double digits last night.

For Xavier, Jordan Crawford found ways to score from every spot on the court. He is arguably the most talented scorer that I have personally seen this season. Crawford is both a spot on shooter and a force on the inside. His ability to go strong to the basket, and finish when there's contact

Early in this game, Temple had no answer for Jason Love. The senior forward scored more than high average in the first half alone. Love was able to score both posting up, as well as off of offensive rebounds. His ability to get his team second chance opportunities was one reason that Jason Love was so efficient early on in this game.

Here's the scoring breakdown for the Musketeers:

Jordan Crawford (18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists)
Jason Love (16 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist)
Terrell Holloway (13 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists)

Xavier's Brad Redford kept the Musketeers' hopes alive during the final 30 seconds or so, connecting on two three pointers that kept them within a possession. It was Temple's free throw shooting, however, that forced Xavier into a 4 or 5 point deficit in the remaining time.

Foul trouble plagued Xavier later in this game when both bigs Kenny Frease (2) and Jason Love (4) were getting called. Ryan Brooks sealed the deal for Temple, by hitting the last six free throws of the game.

Temple (16-3)(4-0) has several days off before their matchup with the Fordham Rams this Saturday.

Xavier (12-6)(4-1) will return home for Saturday when they try and redeem themselves against Rhode Island.

Whatcha Think? Temple vs. Xavier

Feel free to give your opinion on today's game, by posting a comment below!

Live Blog: #19 Temple vs. Xavier

Join us for 40 minutes of discussion during Temple's game against Xavier!

[PODCAST] Temple vs. Xavier Preview

Getting to Know Xavier (Q&A)

For every matchup, we like to give opposing blogger's a chance to tell us about their team and find out their input on that upcoming game.

Today, we had the opportunity to Patrick of the well known Xavier blog Musketeer Blogosphere a few questions about his Musketeers thus far in the season:

The Owl's Nest: Despite losing 3 starters and your head coach, what has allowed Xavier to have it's continued success?

Musketeer Blogosphere: About 25-30 years ago the school's administration decided to make basketball a priority to enhance the school's image throughout the country. Our recent success, especially the past decade, is a direct result of that decision and continued dedication to the program. And yeah, it really sucked to have Sean Miller leave for Arizona and Derrick Brown go to the NBA, but 1st year Head Coach Chris Mack is already proving his worth and the squad is really coming into its own with A-10 play now in full swing.

TON: All five of Xavier's losses have come against quality basketball teams. What have these losses to some of the better opponents on the schedule done for the team? How have they improved off of these losses?

MB: The non conference schedule has been brutal this year. We still play at Florida in mid February as well. But tough schedules are nothing new for Temple as well, so I don't expect any sympathy from the Owl faithful, nor want any. Clearly, the team has already benefitted from testing itself against teams like Kansas State, Marquette, Cincy, and Butler. All three A-10 games came down to the wire with the first two on the road and our most recent win at hope to the hapless Flyers. Winning close games down the stretch is something this team has had to learn the hard way through a couple gut wrenching losses, but clearly the players and coaches have learned from those experiences.

TON: Who has stepped up this year to take the helm of this squad? Who are this year's playmakers on the Musketeers?

MB: Jordan Crawford is easily our most talented player. He leads the league in scoring at 19.1 pointer per game while maintaining a very solid 43% from the field. Our point guard, Terrell Holloway is very much improved this season, and leads the conference in free throw shooting percentage at 90%. Fan favorite Brad Redford leads the league in three point shooting at 47.5%. Temple will have to locate him in transition as that is the time he is most likely to find an open look. He's only 6 feet tall so regrettably he has a hard time in the half court getting open looks. Down low, Jason Love, for me, is our most consistent performer. Brings it every night and almost averages a double double.

TON: As a whole, what would you say this team's strengths and weaknesses on both sides of the ball are?

MB: We are a very good shooting team, and we need to be since we aren't the most athletic. There was a lot of belly aching early in the season from the fans about some of our decision making and the way we ran the offense. But it's funny how things change after a few wins. I do the think the team has gelled quite a bit and the young coaching staff has for sure found its legs.

We don't have particularly great depth in the front court but the development of Andrew Taylor has been a nice surprise. But if Temple can get Kenny Frease, Jason Love or Jamel McLean into foul trouble that would be a nice boost for Temple's chances for a victory.

TON: Any thoughts or predictions for Wednesday?

MB: This is a big week for Xavier as Rhody comes to the Cintas Center on Saturday. Clearly, a win on Wednesday would give either team a good boost towards winning the regular season league title. And since this is the only meeting this year, it would decide any potential tie breaker. And I really want a 4th straight title. I'm cautiously optimistic we can get the job done, but we are coming off a close, emotional game against Dayton this past Saturday afternoon. So I'll just leave it at that. However, I do have to say I miss having John Chaney in my life even if that damn zone always killed my Muskies. Good luck to the Owls in every other game sans Wednesday night.

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions, Patrick. Please be sure to check out his blog, Musketeer Blogosphere for all Xavier Musketeer news.

Temple Welcomes Dangerous Xavier

After a nice four day rest since the win over Massachusetts, the #16 Temple Owls will welcome a tougher opponent in the Xavier Musketeers on Wednesday.

The Owl's Nest will give you an in-depth look at Wednesday afternoon's outing for the Temple Men's Basketball team.

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#16 Temple Owls vs. Xavier Musketeers
Liacouras Center (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Television: (TV) N/A | (RADIO) 1210 WPHT
Tip-off: 7:00 PM

The head to head matchup has Temple with the slight lead at 11-9. The latest matchup came last year, where the Owls squeaked out a 55-53 win.

Xavier Musketeers

Overall Record: (12-5)(4-0)
2008 Record: (24-6)(12-4)
Last Game: (78-74 win over Dayton)

Key Losses: (G/F) B.J. Raymond, (F) Derrick Brown, (G/F) C.J. Anderson
Key Returns: (G) Jordan Crawford, (F/C) Jason Love

Despite the loss of their head coach and three starters, the Xavier Musketeers have continued their success that the program has known to have. Sitting at 12-5, the team has already played their fair share of talents (Marquette, Baylor, Kansas State, Butler, Wake Forest) and have been tested. Sitting atop the Atlantic 10 Conference shows nothing's really changed for the X Men.

Although the team is already one loss shy of last year's record (6), the have come against some quality programs. RealTimeRPI ranks Xavier with the 3rd toughest Strength of Schedule in the entire country. The losses come from five teams with a combined RPI of 31; the combined record of these teams is 63-17, so they're not losing games they'd be expected not to.

Field Goal Percentage: 45%
3PT Field Goal Percentage: 41%
Free Throw Percentage: 72%

Xavier is a high scoring team, averaging almost 80 points per game. The Musketeers go roughly 8 deep and have three players in double digits with all others scoring at least 6 points per outing.

Here's an idea of Xavier's scoring, as we refer to their statistics from their previous game against Dayton:

Dante Jackson (19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists)
Jordan Crawford (16 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists)
Terrell Holloway (15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists)
Jason Love (10 points, 8 rebounds, 6 blocks)

Sophomore guard Jordan Crawford has picked up the slack of the scoring duties, leading the team with 19 point per game. His game is complimented by 5 rebounds and three assists. Terrell Holloway is the second leading scorer for this team, and fills more of the point guard position. He averages close to four assists per game. Jason Love is the third double-digit scorer, and produces for X in both the scoring and rebounding categories. He averages nearly a double-double with 11 points and 9 boards.

Defensively, the Musketeers give up 69 points per game. They average about 6 steals and 5 blocks per game as well.

Please be sure to visit the following Xavier sites for more on the Musketeers:

GoXavier.com | MusketeerMadness.com | MusketeerScoop.com
#16 Temple Owls

Overall Record: (15-3)(3-0)
2008 Record (20-12)(11-5)
Last Game: (76-64 win over Massachusetts)

Key Losses: (G) Dionte Christmas, (G) Semaj Inge, (C) Sergio Olmos
Key Returns: (G) Ryan Brooks, (F) Lavoy Allen, (G) Juan Fernandez

Temple has had a lot of success despite the loss of their leading scorer Dionte Christmas. The Owls are currently on a three game winning streak with some quality wins under their belt. At 15-3, Temple's losses have come against two quality Big East teams (Georgetown and St. John's) and former #1 Kansas. The Owls have made up for this with a victory over #4 Villanova.

The 19th ranked team in the country has not earned their spot so easily. RealTimeRPI ranks the Owls with the 21st toughest Strength of Schedule. The averaged RPI of the teams that Temple lost to is 18, and the teams' combined record is 30-8.

Field Goal Percentage: 41%
3PT Field Goal Percentage: 34%
Free Throw Percentage: 68%

Temple scores roughly as a team about 65 points per game. The Owls normally go 8 or 9 players deep, with key contributors also coming off of the bench.

Here's Temple's last top performers in their game against Massachusetts:

Ryan Brooks (29 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists)
Juan Fernandez (15 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists)
Luis Guzman (9 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists)
Micheal Eric (8 points, 1 rebound)

Leading the Owls in scoring is guard Ryan Brooks. He is an excellent shooter, averaging 16 points a game but also 5 rebounds. Not far behind is Juan Fernandez, who is primarily a great passer but has evolved into a great three pointer shooter; Fernandez averages 13 points and 3 assists per game. Lavoy Allen is Temple's third leading scorer and the leading rebounder. He averages a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds per game.

Temple's defense has been one of the many reasons for the team's success. Temple has given up just 56 points per game. On the stat sheet, the Owls average 5 steals and 3 blocks.

Predicted Starting 5

Here's our prediction of Wednesday's starting five for the Temple Owls:

(G) Juan Fernandez
(G) Ryan Brooks
(G) Luis Guzman
(F) Lavoy Allen
(C) Micheal Eric

Key Players (TEM): Lavoy Allen did not have his best game against UMass, and luckily Ryan Brooks was able to score twice his average. It will be important for Temple to incorporate Lavoy Allen into the mix against Xavier because he'll be going up against the talents of Jason Love.

Key Players (XU): Xavier's main attack comes from the guard play, which against a Temple defense will be challenged. Jordan Crawford and Terrell Holloway (or at least one of them) will have to show up and produce early against a Temple team that can shut down any player.

We'll have more in store for Wednesday's meeting with the Musketeers as the week progresses!

Around The Atlantic 10 (Jan. '10 - Week 2)

Here's a look at the current standings in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Stay tuned for Power Rankings and more updates as the conference season progresses:

Team		Overall Record
Xavier		(12-5)(4-0)
#19 Temple		(15-3)(3-0)
Saint Louis		(11-5)(2-0)
Richmond		(14-5)(3-1)
Rhode Island		(14-2)(2-1)
Dayton		(13-4)(2-1)
La Salle		(9-8)(2-2)
Charlotte		(11-5)(1-1)
George Washington		(11-5)(1-2)
St. Bonaventure		(8-8)(1-2)
Massachusetts		(7-10)(1-3)
Saint Joseph's		(5-11)(1-3)
Duquesne		(9-8)(0-3)
Fordham		(2-14)(0-4)

It's very early in the conference season, and there's plenty of time for things to shake up. We'll keep you updated on the latest happenings in the Atlantic 10.

Upcoming Matchup: #19 Temple vs. Xavier

[PREVIEW] Temple vs. Xavier
[Q&A] Getting to Know Xavier (Q&A TBD)
[POD] Audio broadcast preview of the game
[LIVE] Live blog of Temple - Xavier game
[POST GAME] Thread for post game reactions
[RECAP] Temple vs. Xavier

Stay updated with The Owl's Nest by following us on Twitter.

Brooks Scores 1000th Point in Owls Win

Temple's Ryan Brooks had a career day as the Owls earned their 15th victory of the season of Massachusetts.

Brooks scored a career high 29 points on a spectacular shooting night, and in the process became the 45th Owl to score 1,000 points.

Three point shooting was the highlight of yesterday's performance, with Temple shooting 56% as a team. The team hit 14 of 25 shots, with half of them coming from Ryan Brooks himself. Juan Fernandez hit 4/5 from beyond the arc, Craig Williams had two off of the bench, and Luis Guzman got into the mix with a triple of his own.

Ryan Brooks and Juan Fernandez led the team in scoring today, totaling 44 of the team's 76 points. Here's the rest of the scoring breakdown:

Temple at one point during the first half led Massachusetts 35-13 thanks for the most part to the early 7 three pointers scored by Brooks, Fernandez, and Williams.

Ryan Brooks (29 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists)
Juan Fernandez (15 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists)
Luis Guzman (9 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists)
Lavoy Allen (6 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists)

The post play played a lesser role yesterday as Temple's guards shot the lights out. Lavoy Allen was awfully quiet yesterday, shooting just 1 of 8 from the floor; however, the junior forward pulled down 14 rebounds. Micheal Eric scored 8 points in just 13 minutes of play.

Massachusetts struggled early to get leading scorers Ricky Harris and Anthony Gurley on the same page. At the half, Harris was held to just 2 points, which was crucial for Temple to be able to blow the game open. Although Harris finished with 11 points, it was too late to make a push once he had found ways to score.

Here's the scoring breakdown for the Minutemen:

Anthony Gurley (20 points, 3 rebounds)
Ricky Harris (11 points, 2 assists)
Terrell Vinson (9 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assist)

Gurley took control of the scoring during the second half, though, and brought his team within 7 points with just under 9 minutes remaining. He finished the game with a team high 20 points.

Temple (15-3)(3-0) will have off until Wednesday, when it welcomes Xavier to the Liacouras Center. Massachusetts will also have off until the 20th but will head home to face St. Bonaventure.

Whatcha Think? Temple vs. Massachusetts

Feel free to give your opinion on today's game, by posting a comment below!

Live Blog: #19 Temple vs. Massachusetts

Join us for 40 minutes of intense and exciting Temple basketball, as the Owls take on the Massachusetts Minutemen!

[PODCAST] Temple vs. UMass Preview

#19 Temple Prepares for the Minutemen

After two days of rest from defeating city rival Penn, the Temple Owls will return to the Liacouras Center to welcome the UMass Minutemen

The Owl's Nest will give you an in-depth look at Saturday afternoon's outing for the Temple Men's Basketball team.

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#19 Temple Owls vs. Massachusetts Minutemen
Liacouras Center (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Television: (TV) N/A | (RADIO) 1210 WPHT
Tip-off: 2:00 PM

The head to head matchup has Temple leading 40-20. The latest matchup came last year UMass earned the victory, 79-75.

Massachusetts Minutemen

Overall Record: (7-9)(1-2)
2008 Record: (12-18)(7-9)
Last Game: (70-63 OT loss to Richmond)

Key Losses: (G) Chris Lowe, (C) Tony Gaffney
Key Returns: (G) Ricky Harris, (G) Anthony Gurley,

The UMass Minutemen have done quite well this year given the fact that the team lost three starters from last year's squad. Ricky Harris and Anthony Gurley hope the right the ship after the Minutemen's heartbreaking overtime loss to the Richmond Spiders. UMass will travel to Philadelphia in hopes of knocking off the Owls.

Senior guard Ricky Harris is the team's leading scorer and assist man at 17 points 3 assists per outing. He is a dynamic scorer, with the ability to beat you to the rack, or settle for the jumper. He has also been the team's most consistent scorer, piling up 10 or more points in every game he has played in.

Behind him, though, is no drop off. Anthony Gurley scores the Minutemen another 15 points, and grabs 5 boards per game. In last year's game, Harris and Gaffney combined for 40 of Massachusetts' 79 points.

Freshman Freddie Riley has contributed early in his young college career as UMass's third leading scorer with 11 points. In his last two outing against La Salle and Richmond, Riley has averaged a team high 21 points per game.

Here's an idea of Massachusetts' scoring, as we refer to their statistics from their previous game against Richmond:

Freddie Riley (20 points, 2 rebounds)
Ricky Harris (18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists)
Sampson Carter (7 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist)
Javorn Farrell (7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assist)

There are a number of productive players on this team, and any one of them can go off on the opponent. Temple fans hope that Ricky Harris does not shoot the lights out the way he did against them last year.

Getting Harris and Gurley scoring early, and possibly contributions from Freddie Riley will definitely be a key for UMass to keep this game close early on.

Please be sure to visit the following Massachusetts sites for more on the Minutemen:

UMassAthletics.com | MassLive.com | UMass Hoops
#19 Temple Owls

Overall Record: (14-3)(2-0)
2008 Record (20-12)(11-5)
Last Game: (60-45 win over Penn)

Key Losses: (G) Dionte Christmas, (G) Semaj Inge, (C) Sergio Olmos
Key Returns: (G) Ryan Brooks, (F) Lavoy Allen, (G) Juan Fernandez

After taking care of Big Five rival Penn on Wednesday afternoon, the Temple Owls will now return to conference play against UMass.

The Owls have seen much more production from their post game in the past few games-- Micheal Eric and Lavoy Allen have become more and more effective for this team, both with scoring and rebounding. This has allowed for a more diverse offensive attack from the 19th ranked team in the country.

Leading the Owls in scoring is senior guard Ryan Brooks. He is more of a jump shooter, but isn't hesitant to take the ball to the rack for the score. He averages 15 points and almost 6 rebounds per outing thus far, and has been very reliable through the entire season.

Lavoy Allen is the team's third leading scorer, averaging 11 points. He compliments this with a double-double with 10 boards per game as well. Micheal Eric's production has increased drastically; he is now averaging about 5 points and 3 rebounds per game for the Owls.

Another deadly scorer for this team is Juan Fernandez. Fernandez is the team's true point guard, but shares the floor in the starting lineup with Luis Guzman. He has taken more of a scoring roll, but consistently flashes signs of his unbelievable ball handling abilities. Juan averages 13 points with close to 4 assists for Temple.

Here's Temple's last top performers in their game against St. Joe's:

Ryan Brooks (15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists)
Juan Fernandez (12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists)
Micheal Eric (9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals)
Lavoy Allen (6 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks)

The Owls get scoring and defensive efforts from Craig Williams, Ramone Moore, and Rahlir Jefferson. Williams and Moore are the shooters of the three, while Jefferson has been known for his defensive tenacity and pressure.

Predicted Starting 5

Here's our prediction of Saturday's starting five for the Temple Owls:

(G) Juan Fernandez
(G) Ryan Brooks
(G) Luis Guzman
(F) Lavoy Allen
(C) Micheal Eric

Key Players (TEM): If Temple is able to create post play opportunities for the bigs, they can be even more dangerous than they already are. Having two 6'9+ players on the court who can consistently score and rebound on both ends will only make this team better than it already has been. Temple's defense will also need to keep eyes on the three headed scoring attack of Harris, Gurley, and Riley.

Key Players (UMASS): Ricky Harris and Anthony Gurley will be going up against one of the best half court defenses in the country. They will need to find their strokes early on in this game to provide efficient scoring outlets. It has not been easy for teams that have fallen behind against the Owls to make comebacks when the Temple defense is lock down.

We'll have more in store for Sunday's meeting with the Rams as the week progresses!

Upcoming Matchup: #19 Temple vs. UMass

The #19 Temple Owls look to continue their Atlantic 10 Conference success when they play the Massachusetts Minutemen. We'll get you prepared by previewing this exciting matchup:

[PREVIEW] Temple vs. Massachusetts
[Q&A] Getting to Know UMass (Q&A TBD)
[POD] Audio broadcast preview of the game
[LIVE] Live blog of Temple -UMass game
[POST GAME] Thread for post game reactions
[RECAP] Temple vs. UMass

Stay updated with The Owl's Nest by following us on Twitter.

Owls Get Third Big Five Victory Over Penn

Coach Dunphy returned to his old home in The Palestra looking to get another win over his former team. The Owls took on a motivated Penn Quakers team that would welcome both their old coach and a hopeful upset.

Turnovers were the early story of this game, as neither team could control and secure the ball. Both teams had their share of bad passes, which was one of many reasons this game was so close for so long.

Temple's post play made a statement early on, scoring the team's first 12 points of the game. Micheal Eric and Lavoy Allen created plenty of opportunities early on in this game to establish themselves.

The Owls' defense was able to contain Quaker star Zack Rosen. Still, Penn kept this game close through the majority of the game. Jack Eggleston and Dan Monckton picked up Rosen's production early on to allow the Quakers to keep the game under a double digit deficit.

Senior Ryan Brooks started off a little sluggish, scoring 3 points in the first half. He picked his game up after intermission by leading the team with 15 points. Behind him was Juan Fernandez scoring 12 of his own.

Here's a look at Temple's top scorers:

Ryan Brooks (15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists)
Juan Fernandez (12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists)
Micheal Eric (9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals)
Lavoy Allen (6 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks)

The Owls as a team shot 23/54 (43%) from field goal range, along with 5/17 (29%) from behind the arc. From the charity strike, Temple was able to make 9/13 (69%).

Penn had one of their more successful games this season last night. The offense overall had its cold streaks, but kept this game within 5 points for the longest time.

Leading the Quakers in scoring was Jack Eggleston, who absolutely killed Temple scoring off of many backdoor cuts to the basket. Zack Rosen filled more of the point guard role in this game, accumulating 6 assists over the course of the game; he was able to score 10 points of his own. Off the bench, Dan Monckton also contributed to the Penn offensive production with 10 points off of the bench.

The Quakers shot 18/48 (38%) from the field, and struggled from three point range. Penn shot just 3/20 (15%). The team however went perfect from the foul line, going 6/6 (100%).

Temple (14-3)(2-0) will move back into conference play this Saturday against Massachusetts

Penn (1-11)(0-0) will look to bounce back against city rival La Salle next Wednesday.

We'll prepare you for the Owls' meeting with the Minutemen as this week progresses.

Whatcha Think? Temple vs. Pennsylvania

Feel free to share your thoughts on tonight's game against UPenn in the comments section below.

Live Blog: #19 Temple vs. Pennsylvania

Join us for 40 minutes of Big Five basketball, when the Temple Owls take on the Pennsylvania Quakers!

Around The Atlantic 10 (Jan. '10 - Week 1)

Here's a look at the current standings in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Stay tuned for Power Rankings and more updates as the conference season progresses:

Team		Overall Record
#19 Temple		(13-3)(2-0)
Xavier		(10-5)(2-0)
Dayton		(12-3)(1-0)
Charlotte		(11-4)(1-0)
Saint Louis		(10-5)(1-0)
George Washington		(11-4)(1-1)
Richmond		(12-5)(1-1)
La Salle		(8-7)(1-1)
Massachusetts		(7-8)(1-1)
St. Joseph's		(5-9)(1-1)
Rhode Island		(12-2)(0-1)
Duquesne		(9-7)(0-2)
St. Bonaventure		(7-8)(0-2)
Fordham		(2-12)(0-2)

It's very early in the conference season, and there's plenty of time for things to shake up. We'll keep you updated on the latest happenings in the Atlantic 10.

Temple Takes On The Quakers

After Temple's overtime scare against Rhode Island the Owls will look to keep their city record undefeated when they take on Penn at the Palestra.

Coach Fran Dunphy will once again return to the place he called home for 17 seasons as the head basketball coach of the Quakers.

The Owl's Nest will give you an in-depth look at Wednesday's outing against UP for the Temple Men's Basketball team.

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#19 Temple Owls vs. Pennsylvania Quakers
The Palestra (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Television: (TV) N/A | (RADIO) 1210 WPHT
Tip-off: 7:00 PM

The head to head matchup has Temple leading 42-22. The latest matchup came last year where the Owls beat the Quakers by a score of 78-53.

Pennsylvania Quakers

Overall Record: (1-10)(0-0)
2008 Record: (10-18)(6-8)
Last Game: (82-71 win over UMBC)

Key Losses: (G) Harrison Gaines, (G) Kevin Egee
Key Returns: (G) Zack Rosen, (F) Jack Eggleston,

Depsite their 1-10 record thus far, the Penn Quakers have a ton of talent which shined in their first victory of the season. Four Quakers scored in double-digits as the team broke the ice on this previous "defeated" 2010 season.

Penn has scoring outlets both in the guard and forward play. Floor general Zack Rosen leads UPenn in both points and assists per game. Rosen is both a great shooter and a terrific ball handler.

Here is the scoring breakdown from Penn's latest game against UMBC:

Zack Rosen - 28 points
Darren Smith - 15 points
Conor Turley - 13 points
Dan Monckton - 11 points

Rosen dominated the statsheet with 28 points. The sophomore guard shot a spectacular 75% from field goal range, as well as 100% from the charity strike.

Assisting him with the scoring was Darren Smith (15 points), Conor Turley (13 points), Dan Monckton (11). This tremendous effort by the team allowed the Quakers to get the ball rollin with their first victory. Despite scoring just 6 points, forward Jack Eggleston pulled down 11 boards for Penn which was the game high.

As a team as well, the Penn Quakers shot over .500 from the field (50%), three point range (54%), and the free throw line (81%). A quarter of the team's points against UMBC came from the charity strike, which was a major factor in the outcome of this game.

Please be sure to visit the following Penn sites for more on the Quakers:

PennAthletics.com | "The Buzz" Blog | Penn Sports Message Board
#19 Temple Owls

Overall Record: (13-3)(2-0)
2008 Record: (20-12)(11-5)
Last Game: (68-64 win over Rhode Island)

Key Losses: (G) Dionte Christmas, (G) Semaj Inge, (C) Sergio Olmos
Key Returns: (G) Ryan Brooks, (F) Lavoy Allen, (G) Juan Fernandez

The Owls were pushed to the near limit by the Rhode Island Rams on Sunday when escaped with an overtime victory. The Atlantic 10 demonstrated early on that the competition this year is high, and there is plenty of tournament caliber talent.

Through the majority of the 2010 season, Temple's offensive production has come from the guard play; however, the past two outing for the Owls have featured deadly inside play from Lavoy Allen and Micheal Eric.

Juan Fernandez was able to get back on track after the goose egg he laid against St. Joe's. The sophomore point guard redeemed himself with 18 points against Rhode Island on Sunday. Fernandez received help from Ryan Brooks, who scored 16 of his own, as well as the continued production of forward Lavoy Allen.
Here's Temple's last top performers in their game against Rhode Island:

Juan Fernandez (18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists)
Lavoy Allen (16 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists)
Ryan Brooks (16 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists)
Scootie Randall (5 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal)

The bench play of Temple has been impressive as well.

Guard Scootie Randall has seen more and more playing time as the season has progressed, and thus far it has been very beneficial. Randall is a great shooter, but compliments his overall offensive game with some defensive pressure.

Freshman forward Rahlir Jefferson has found opportunities to score the basketball, but the majority of his efforts are found on the defensive side of the ball. Jefferson has proven to be a tremendous defender and rebounder.

Junior Craig Williams is a pure 3 point shooter, despite his 6'10 frame. When he has a nice look at the basket, he is very dangerous for opponents. With the return of Micheal Eric, though, the Owls have been able to improve and integrate more of a post play oriented offense at times.

Ramone Moore is the scorer off the bench of this group. He has the ability to drive to the basket, as well as pull up for the open jumpshot. Randall, Moore, and Jefferson have made the most noise off of Temple's normally short bench.

Predicted Starting 5

Here's our prediction of Wednesday's starting five for the Temple Owls:

(G) Juan Fernandez
(G) Ryan Brooks
(G) Luis Guzman
(F) Lavoy Allen
(C) Micheal Eric

Key Players (TEM): The diversity of any basketball team if very dangerous, especially when you have scorers both inside and outside of the paint. Lavoy Allen himself is able to create no answer for teams in the paint when he gets going. Allen's rebounding is another huge factor in games, as it allows or keeps teams from second chance poins.

Key Players (PENN): Penn has a number of scorers on this team, and can either beat with one guy or a team effort. Zack Rosen is the team's best player, and the biggest producer on this team. In order to have the advantage, Rosen needs to get going early on in this game. Being the floor general, he has the ability to create both opportunities for himself and his teammates.

Stay tuned for our upcoming Q&A with "The Buzz"!

We'll have more in store for Wednesday's meeting with the Quakers as the week progresses!

Upcoming Matchup: Temple vs. Pennsylvania

The #21 Temple Owls take on the Penn Quakers in the Palestra for a Big Five showdown on January 13th. We'll get you prepared by previewing this exciting matchup:

[PREVIEW] Temple vs. Pennsylvania
[Q&A] Getting to Know Penn (The Buzz)
[LIVE] Live blog of Temple - Penn game
[POST GAME] Thread for post game reactions
[RECAP] Temple vs. Pennsylvania

Stay updated with The Owl's Nest by following us on Twitter.

Owls Escape Upset With Overtime Win

The Temple Owls faced one of their tougher conference opponents in a game that went down to the wire.

For the first time in a while, the Owls trailed for quite some time as the game progressed, and were fighting to hold on their ranking and undefeated conference record. At halftime, the team trailed 5 points as both teams continued to trade basket for basket.

Rhode Island's Delroy James found his touch early, causing a number of problems for the Owls both in the paint and around the foul line. His game high 23 points was one reason that the Rams jumped on top of Temple from the get-go. Keith Cothran (who scored his 1000th point as a URI Ram) also chimed in despite a small injury, scoring 18 crucial points of his own.

The Rams did a nice job of scoring on second chance opportunities (as we mentioned in our preview). As soon as a shot went up, Rhode Island was the first under the basket to collect the rebound. Delroy James contributed a lot of his points on these opportunities.

The Owls found themselves in foul trouble quickly, when every Temple player had at least one foul. As soon as Coach Dunphy made substitutions, those players picked up fouls. By the end of the game, the starting lineup had picked up 14 personals, and the bench nearly equaled that with 11 of their own. At least a quarter of these calls were offensive fouls between Ryan Brooks, Juan Fernandez, and Luis Guzman.

Temple also did not get to the foul line one time until roughly three minutes remained in regulation. When they did get to the charity strike, though, they made the Rams pay.

Temple had three players in double-digit scoring, which played a large role in matching the high powered scoring of URI's Delroy James and Keith Cothran. Here are Temple's leading performers in this afternoon's outing:

Juan Fernandez (18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists)
Lavoy Allen (16 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists)
Ryan Brooks (16 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists)
Scootie Randall (5 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal)

Juan Fernandez broke the ice that began forming during the Kansas game, scoring a team high 18 points. Despite beginning the game 0 for 5, the sophomore once again found his touch from long range and brought the team to victory.

Lavoy Allen was able to continue his post game dominance from last Wednesday by earning a consecutive double-double. Lavoy scored 16 points of his own, as well as 12 crucial rebounds.

Ryan Brooks was the third double-digit scorer for the Owls. 7 of his 16 points game from the free throw line, which was one of the main reasons why Temple was able to hold onto this game.

As a team, the Owls free throw shooting was spectacular and one of several reasons the team was able to hang on to the victory. 7 of the 8 made free throws came from guard Ryan Brooks as the clock ran down during overtime. The Rams were forced to foul in order to preserve time, but Brooks made them pay by connecting on crucial free throws.

Rhode Island (12-2)(0-1) will try and bring their conference record to .500 when they play St. Joe's on Wednesday.

Temple (13-3)(2-0) will hope to continue their 2 game winning streak against Penn back in Philadelphia.

The Owl's Nest will get you prepared for Wednesday's game against Penn as the weekend progresses.

Whatcha Think? Temple vs. Rhode Island

Feel free to share your thoughts on this afternoon's game against URI in the comments section below.

Live Blog: #21 Temple vs. Rhode Island

Join us for 40 minutes of Temple basketball, as the Owls face their first obstacle in the 2009 Atlantic 10 Conference schedule!

Live blog begins at 12:00 PM, an hour before gametime!

Temple Faces First A10 Challenge in URI

After Temple's A10 opener victory over St. Joe's the team will face arguably one of their tougher opponents on the in-conference schedule when they take on the Rhode Island Rams.

The Owl's Nest will give you an in-depth look at Sunday's outing against URI for the Temple Men's Basketball team.

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#21 Temple Owls vs. Rhode Island Rams
Thomas M. Ryan Center (Kingston, Rhode Island)
Television: (TV) Cox Sports | (RADIO) 1210 WPHT
Tip-off: 1:00 PM

The head to head matchup has Temple leading 51-15. The latest matchup came last year where the Owls pulled out a 68-62 victory..

Rhode Island Rams

Overall Record: (12-1)(0-0)
2008 Record: (22-9)(11-5)
Last Game: (68-63 win over Akron)

Key Losses: (G) Jimmy Baron, (F) Kahiem Seawright
Key Returns: (F) Delroy James, (G) Keith Cothran, (F) Lamonte Ulmer

Despite the loss of two quality players due to graduation, the Rhode Island Rams have gotten off to a very similar start as their 2008 campaign. Seniors Keith Cothran and Delroy James have stepped up nicely to help propel this team to where they are thus far. The Rams begin their Atlantic 10 Conference schedule against Temple, where they'd like to establish themselves early on in the year.

The leading scorer of this team is Keith Cothran, who averages nearly 17 points per game. He's the team's main weapon on the stat sheet, but no where near the only one. Right behind him is Delroy James, who scores 14 a game himself. James, at 6'8, is a solid rebounder as well. Lamonte Ulmer, however, is the team's leading rebounder, and also the team's third leading scorer. He averages 12 points and 7 rebounds

Here's an idea of Rhode Island's scoring, as we refer to their statistics from their previous game against Akron:

Lamonte Ulmer - 20 points
Delroy James - 19 points
Keith Cothran - 12 points
Marquis Jones - 6 points

This will be the third team I've assessed now that seems to have a lot of nice compliments that come off the bench for the team. Orion Outerbridge, Akeem Richmond, Will Martell, and Marquis Jones all score 6 or more points when they step on the court. The Rams go roughly 8 or 9 deep, and it has paid off thus far.

Please be sure to visit the following Rhode Island's sites for more on the Rams:

GoRhody.com | Projo.com | Running With The Rams
#21 Temple Owls

Overall Record: (12-3)(1-0)
2008 Record (20-12)(11-5)
Last Game: (73-46 win over St. Joseph's)

Key Losses: (G) Dionte Christmas, (G) Semaj Inge, (C) Sergio Olmos
Key Returns: (G) Ryan Brooks, (F) Lavoy Allen, (G) Juan Fernandez

Lavoy Allen had one of his best game's this season for the Owls in just 31 minutes of play, earning himself his fourth double-double of the year. The post play showed signs of improvement and production in the Owls previous came, which played a large role in the team's success.

Senior guard Ryan Brooks is the teams leading scorer, with just over 15 points a game. He follows that up with 5 rebounds and 3 assists as well. Also is the very dangerous (but not recently dangerous) Juan Fernandez. Although the Argentinean point guard scores 13 points, he was held scoreless in a 73 point team scoring effort against St. Joe's.

Here's Temple's last top performers in their game against St. Joe's:

Lavoy Allen (20 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks)
Ryan Brooks (13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists)
Micheal Eric (13 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block)
Ramone Moore (9 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists)

Temple's post game established itself against a disadvantaged early on in Wednesday's win, and will have to continue to perform against the talents that Rhode Island has. Both Micheal Eric and Lavoy Allen contributed extremely well against St. Joe's.

Predicted Starting 5

Here's our prediction of Wednesday's starting five for the Temple Owls:

(G) Juan Fernandez
(G) Ryan Brooks
(G) Luis Guzman
(F) Lavoy Allen
(C) Micheal Eric

Key Players (TEM): Temple will need to establish once again a post game against a talented URI paint presence. If Lavoy Allen can continue his scoring and rebounding with some help from Micheal Eric, the Owls should be in good shape. In addition, Juan Fernandez really needs to get back into a groove with his scoring, as the 13 point scorer went scoreless against St. Joe's on Wednesday.

Key Players (URI): Offenses have been very successful against Temple when they have been able to perform and produce early on. Temple's offense feeds off of the defensive intensity, and by beating Temple on every missed opportunity there is a good chance the Rams could win the game. Rhody has the players to run the floor, and they should utilize this against a sometimes sluggish transition Temple team.

Stay tuned for our upcoming Q&A with Running With The Rams!

We'll have more in store for Sunday's meeting with the Rams as the week progresses!