Men's Basketball
Keith Pompey, Inquirer Staff Writer
Did anybody envision Khalif Wyatt not becoming the Atlantic Ten player of the year?
The answer is probably no to that question.
So the inevitable happened Tuesday morning when the A-10 named the Temple guard its player of the year.
Keith Pompey, Inquirer Staff Writer
Clark Kellogg is on Temple's bandwagon.
Kellogg, the lead college basketball analyst for CBS Sports, picks Duke and Indiana to reach to the Final Four. He believes teams like the Owls, North Carolina State, Virginia Commonwealth and St. Louis have shots at the other two spots.
He has the the Blue Devils winning the national title.
Keith Pompey, Inquirer Staff Writer
Standing 6-foot-9 and 230 pounds with a soft touch, Martinas "Martin" Geben is an intriguing prospect for plenty of Division I basketball programs. And Temple is one of them.
Geben, who came to America from his native Lithuania in August 2011, was on an unofficial visit to Temple on Sunday. The junior power forward/center at St. Maria Goretti High School in Maryland witnessed the Owls’ 84-76 victory over then 21st-ranked Virginia Commonwealth.
I'm very interested [in Temple],” Geben said.”I like the league that they play in, and I like the whole basketball program.”
The Owls (23-8) are in their last season in the Atlantic Ten. They will become an all-sports member of the league now known as the Big East on July 1.
Temple rejoined the Big East for football this past season. It had been a football-only member of the Mid-American Conference since 2007.
Geben said he has not yet received a scholarship offer from Temple. He has offers from St. Joseph’s, Dayton, George Mason and George Washington.
“I don't have any favorites right now,” Geben said. “But I'm interested in [Temple].”
He averaged 16 points and 12 rebounds this season.
Check out some of his highlights below:
Keith Pompey, Inquirer Staff Writer
Khalif Wyatt, a senior guard at Temple, was named the Big Five men’s basketball play of the week on Monday. It marked the second straight week and the sixth time this season the Norristown native has won the award.
Wyatt averaged 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, four assists and 2.5 steals in victories over Fordham and then 21st-ranked Virginia Commonwealth.
He had 19 points, career-best 11 rebounds and four assists in Wednesday’s 74-55 victory at Fordham. Wyatt then finished with 30 points, four steals, four assists and four rebounds in Sunday’s 84-76 win over VCU at the Liacouras Center.
Keith Pompey, Inquirer Staff Writer
Here is how bracketologists Joe Lunardi and Jerry Palm see local men’s college basketball teams in the NCAA tournament through Sunday:
Lunardi, ESPN
La Salle: Meets Kentucky in play-in game for the 11th seed in the South to play sixth seed UCLA at Auburn Hills.
Keith Pompey, Inquirer Staff Writer
My look at some of the best and worst performances and happenings from Temple’s 84-76 victory over Virginia Commonwealth on Sunday at the Liacouras Center:
Best performance: Temple’s Khalif Wyatt and Jake O’Brien will have to share this award. Wyatt, a senior guard, finished with a game-high 30 points. He made only eight of 18 shots, but Wyatt kept getting to the line, where he sank 13 of 16 free throws. He also finished with four steals, four assists, four rebounds and four turnovers. O’Brien, graduate student who plays forward, made 5 of 8 three-pointers and finished with 19 points and a game-high three blocked shots. The Boston University transfer's three-pointer with 14 minutes, 40 seconds left gave Temple an 51-48 advantage and the lead for good.
Worst performance: I couldn’t avoid giving this award to Temple center Anthony Lee, who appeared out of sync in a reserve role. While the sophomore had two blocked shots, he was held scoreless for the first time this season on 0-for-3 shooting . Lee also had two rebounds, a turnover and committed two personal fouls in just 12 minutes of action. O’Brien started in Lee’s place, because it was the grad student’s final game at the Liacouras Center.
Keith Pompey, Inquirer Staff Writer
The Temple Owls have joined in the “Harlem Shake” craze.
With Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson wearing a horse head, T.J. DiLeo dressed like someone from a land of broke-down strawberry shortcakes, and Will Cummings as a pig, the Owls’ version of the dance craze was filmed in their locker room.
The Harlem Shake, which is getting national attention, is to the song that bears the same name. There are countless videos on the internet where one person begins dancing. Moments later, the camera cuts to large group of people, mostly donning costumes, dancing.
Keith Pompey, Inquirer Staff Writer
Here are the probable starters, coaches’ records and series information for Sunday’s much-anticipated, regular-season finale between Temple and 21st-ranked Virginia Commonwealth at Liacouras Center:
PROBABLE STARTERS
TEMPLE (22-8, 10-5 Atlantic Ten)
Keith Pompey, Inquirer Staff Writer
Here are my Atlantic Ten power rankings heading into this weekend’s regular-season finales.
1. St. Louis (23-6, 12-3). The 16th-ranked Billikens had their 11-game winning streak snapped Wednesday night at Xavier. But a win Saturday against La Salle would give them the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in next week’s conference tourney. Last week: No. 1
2. Virginia Commonwealth (24-6, 12-3). The 21st-ranked Rams wrapped at least a third seed in the next week’s conference tournament with Wednesday’s victory over cross-town rival Richmond. Last week: No. 2
Keith Pompey, Inquirer Staff Writer
Temple will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its 1987-88 men’s basketball team during a halftime ceremony at Sunday’s game against 21st-ranked Virginia Commonwealth at the Liacouras Center. Most of the former players from that team will be on hand.
The 1987-88 team finished the regular season ranked No. 1, advanced the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament and had a 32-2 record.
“This is arguably the greatest team in the history of Temple basketball,” athletic director Bill Bradshaw said in a statement. “No other team in the sixth-winningest program in NCAA history won more games and was ranked higher that the 1987-88 Owls.
Pompey is a native Philadelphian and a University of Pittsburgh graduate. Follow him on Twitter @pompeysgridlock. Reach Keith at kpompey@phillynews.com.
