We just finished what I feel was our poorest week of the season. Explanations are very difficult and theories are too numerous to go in to. It is especially disappointing because our fan support was great Sunday.

I know we can and will play better. For some strange reason we play better away from our homecourt.

The cliché's about sport being a microcosm of life are true. We must overcome disappointment and work to do better. Our minimal goal this year is to produce a winning season. That is critically important to us.

We will learn from each game and each season to keep La Salle Basketball moving forward.

Our practices this week will be especially competitive for this time of year.

This Sunday Temple will celebrate one of the finest young men to wear the Cherry and White Dionte Christmas in a very unique way – his very own bobblehead. This is the first time that Temple has honored a student-athlete with a bobblehead and Dionte is very deserving of this day.

Dionte truly encompasses what you want in a student athlete on your team. He does a good job in the classroom. He has worked as hard on his academics as he has on his basketball game. He has also done a terrific job on the basketball court and really represents Temple well. His most valued asset, however, is what he does in the community. He is a good person and the kind of individual that you want to represent your basketball program and institution. It is these three components, athleticism, academics and community service that have made him one of 10 finalists for the Senior Class Award. We are very proud of all that he has accomplished in his four years at Temple and we will have fun with this Bobblehead day.

So please, come out Sunday and join me in honoring one of the greatest individuals in Temple basketball history and support our team as we take on St. Bonaventure. The game tips off at 2:00 p.m., but be sure to arrive early as only the first 3,000 fans 14 and over get a bobblehead. Also it is Hooter’s Birthday, and will be a fun day for youngsters as many of the local mascots will be in attendance for the big day.

Go Owls!!

...It was about this time last year when a much more offensively talented Saint Joseph’s team, apparently on its way to an easy at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament after winning six straight, culminating with a rout of Villanova, hit the wall and promptly lost five of seven.

Those Hawks recovered with a win over No. 8 Xavier, another win over Xavier in the Atlantic 10 semifinals and earned one of the final at-large berths after a close loss to Temple in the A-10 championship game.

This St. Joe’s team was never going to earn an at-large bid after a non-conference schedule that saw them lose too often to teams they could have beaten and not beating any teams the odds makers thought they would not beat.

Still, just a week ago, the Hawks had only one A-10 loss. Now, they have four. A once solid first-round A-10 Tournament bye is now more tenuous. So, what gives?

Two things: reality and no bench production.

The Hawks needed three overtimes to beat Rhode Island and a tip-in at the OT buzzer to beat Duquesne. Even the wins were not easy. Now, they have lost three consecutive close games.

The reality is this is a flawed team and flawed teams don’t win every close game. That basketball truth has brought St. Joe’s back to A-10 reality.

Then, there is the bench. Or lack of it. And how all those starter minutes could be affecting the results.

Last year, with Garrett Williamson and Idris Hilliard coming off the bench, St. Joe’s bench took up just 18 percent of the available minutes, according to kenpom.com. That was 339th out of 341 teams. The national bench average was 30.8 percent of available minutes.

Now, with Williamson and Hilliard starting in place of Rob Ferguson and Pat Calathes, the Hawks bench, through Sunday, is getting just 14.9 percent of all minutes. That is 343rd out of 344 Div. I teams.

Star Ahmad Nivins has played 96.2 percent of available minutes. That is No. 2 in the nation behind UMBC’s Darryl Proctor.

No doubt, these players are in shape. Anybody who has watched them train at Summit knows that. Still, no matter the shape, the season is a grind. Players begin to wear down.

The Hawks were not exactly blown out in their three straight losses, losing by a combined nine points. But they played from behind in all those games and could never quite catch up. That is a hard way to play, especially with a short bench.

In Wednesday’s loss at Saint Louis, St. Joe’s coach Phil Martelli did use his bench much more and got good production. After using the bench for just eight minutes against La Salle, Martelli got 16 points in 39 minutes from his bench against the Billikens.

Now, Martelli will insist that the bench situation is not a factor in the recent losses. And he could be right. He could also be wrong.
 

So, what are we to make of Villanova’s 19-point loss at West Virginia last Friday?

It happens. Just ask Louisville, which got clubbed at Notre Dame by 33. If you looked at Villanova’s schedule way back when, you would’ve circled the trip to Morgantown as a likely loss anyway. Just because. It’s hardly an easy place to play, especially at 9 on a weekend. That musket fire does get loud. Plus, the Wildcats had beaten West Virginia pretty good up here last year. And Bob Huggins had been building this game into the biggest thing since Jerry West left. So what transpired was almost expected. Especially since Dwayne Anderson’s hyperextended knee still wasn’t ready to go.

Look at it another way: The Wildcats had probably gone throught their toughest stretch of the regular season and came away 3-1, with two wins over nationally ranked opponents. Think Jay Wright would have taken that before it started?

Now, the thing his team has to do is take care of business, particularly at home. Chances are, they’re going to lose again before the Big East Tournament. The only question is how many. They’re off until Thursday, when they host Rutgers, a team that embarrassed them up there last season. Then they go to Syracuse, which will be out for some revenge from Feb. 7. There’s a trip to De Paul, which really stinks, followed by a game at the Center against Georgetown. The Wildcats, of course, nearly won in Washington a year ago. They go to Notre Dame after that, and close with Providence, another team they’ve already beaten, at the Pavilion.

So what’s it going to be? Can they finish 4-2? That would probably mean losing at Syracuse and ND. If the Wildcats don’t lose at home that’s the worst they can do, because they should be able to handle De Paul. Or maybe they’ll slip at home but win two on the road. Or perhaps they’ve got a 5-1 run left in them.

Barring something unforseen, it looks like they’re headed for a third game against Marquette in the Big East quarterfinals. But there’s a lot of basketballs to be dribbled before then, and projecting usually only gets you into trouble.

As for the postseason possibilities, I think Dick Jerardi covered it pretty well in Monday’s paper. The Wildcats probably have about a 50-50 chance of playing the opening weekend of the NCAAs in South Philly. And some of that obviously depends on what happens to other teams that are in that 2-3-4 seed range.

I know this much: The Villanova team that beat Pitt, Syracuse and Marquette in the span of 2 weeks was playing well enough to hang with just about anyone. If the Wildcats can play that way when mid-March arrives, it should make for another interesting Madness, for a program that’s been to the second weekend 3 of the last 4 years.

But who didn’t already know that?
 

 
Not that long ago it looked like Temple’s only chance of getting back into the NCAA Tournament was to win the Atlantic 10 once again.

Upon further review ...

The Owls are 15-9, having won three straight since a loss at Xavier. They have six games left before the A-10 tourney, starting Wednesday against Fordham at the Liacouras Center. Then it’s two more at home, with St. Bonaventure and LaSalle, a trip to Dayton, Saint Joseph’s on North Broad Street and at George Washington.

The only time they won’t be favored is at Dayton.

Right now, the Owls’ RPI is 34. According to ESPN’s Bracketology — which I happen to put a lot of faith in, even though I’m sure many folks will point out that it’s the work of a St. Joe guy — they’re the sixth team out. Just behind Southern Cal, and just ahead of New Mexico. But a bunch of things can change before Selection Sunday. And often does.

Obviously, if Temple can win at Dayton, that would go a long way in helping its cause. Because, barring a total impolosion, Xavier and Dayton are in. It’s important for Temple to at least establish itself as the third-best team in the conference. I’m sick of hearing how the A-10 can’t get more than two teams in. From everything I’ve heard, when the Committee puts Temple’s name on the board, the Owls are being judged on how they stack up against other teams. There aren’t quotas, per ce. So if it comes down to, say, Temple and USC, it’s not A-10 vs. Pac-10.

Anyway, what if the Owls don’t win at Dayton, where the Flyers are nearly unstoppable? Well, if they win the rest of their games, which won’t be easy (especially the two Big 5 matchups, even if they’re at home), then get to the A-10 title game, why wouldn’t they have a legitimate argument?

Obviously, there’s not much margin for error. That’s what losing some of those games in November and December can do (think Long Beach) to a resume. But under that scenario, they would probably have to beat Xavier or Dayton in the A-10 semifinals. That would get them to 22-10, which figures to be bubble territory. So even a loss to X or Dayton in the final will leave them at 22-11. If nothing else, that would certainly make for an interesting discussion.

Much, of course, depends upon what goes on around the country as well. It’s not all in Temple’s hands. But the Owls can do their part, and let the invites fall how they may.

First things first. Fans can look ahead. Players and coaches can’t afford to. Because at this point, all it takes is one false step to take you out of the picture.

And if all else fails, hey, they can always just go 3-0 in Atlantic City. Then, there is no speculation. Funny how that works.

This week is a very challenging week for our basketball program as we leave the Liacouras Center to take on two of the top teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, Saint Joseph’s and Duquesne.

Overall, winning on the road in the Atlantic 10 is a difficult proposition. Those teams that are able to win on the road separate themselves from the rest of the field. Right now, St. Joe’s has done a terrific job on the road in the league and that is why they are currently in first place in the conference.

While we do not have to leave the city to play St. Joe’s, we are going to their home away from home, the Palestra. We certainly know the confines of the Palestra, so it is not like another away court. It will, however, be a road game in terms of atmosphere as most of the fans will be for St. Joe’s. We certainly understand and respect that.

Then going to Duquesne will be a tough challenge. They proved that they belong among the top teams in the league, and have a strong homecourt advantage when they defeated Xavier in the Palumbo Center last weekend. Again that underscored how difficult it is to win on the road in the Atlantic 10.

Every game from here on out is critical. We have eight games left in the league and if we are going to finish anywhere near where we finished last year we are going to have to take care of our home games while splitting on the road any way that we can. That is the formula for success.

Go Owls
 

It’s no secret that the play of sophomore forward Lavoy Allen, who needs to become more consistent, could be one of the biggest keys to Temple’s late-season aspirations.

Maybe he’s coming on at just the right time.

In his last two games, he averaged 18.5 points and 13.5 rebounds, scoring a career-high 23 in Sunday’s 68-62 home win over Rhode Island. For that, he was named the Big 5 Player of the Week for the first time today. It might not be his last.

The 6-9 Pennsbury High product is fourth in the Atlantic 10 in rebounding, at 7.8 per game, and leads the Owls (13-9, 6-3) with 35 blocks and a 56.8 field-goal percentage. On Thursday night, he will be going up against perhaps the top player in the A-10, when Temple takes on Ahmad Nivens and Saint Joseph’s (14-8, 7-1) at the Palestra.

It’s the first of two games between the teams that met last March for the conference title. The rematch is March 5 on North Broad Street. Not only is there obvious ramifications in the standings, but there’s a lot at stake individually as well. Temple’s Dionte Christmas, who’s trying to become the first guy to lead the A-10 in scoring three consecutive times, can state his case for Player of the Year, too.

Last season they split in the regular season, with each team winning by one on the road. The Owls won the third meeting by five in Atlantic City, but both advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

Sunday afternoon, at halftime of our game against Rhode Island, we will honor one of the greatest teams in the Temple basketball, the 1969 Owl team that won the NIT Championship.

It is very important for our present team to always remember who has preceded them and certainly the '68-69 NIT Championship team, coached by the legendary Harry Litwack, is a very much a part of our Temple basketball history,  It was a great stretch run that they made to the title. 

My fondest remembrance of that team and its accomplishments actually happened many years later when I was watching a piece on the old PRISM network.  In that piece one of the seniors on that team, Joe Cromer, talked about how, as great a victory as it was to win the championship against Boston College, the players felt so bad for John Baum for not getting to be the MVP that they all just went home afterward.  No celebration.  That is how badly they felt for their guy, John Baum.  It said a lot about the leadership that John had for that team, and the love and passion for the game that those guys had.  That passion is what made them such a special team.

So come out and join me in helping to honor Temple's past, and also celebrate the future as we take on a really
talented Rhode Island Rams team.   You will also be able to
see my coaching colleague, Tonya Cardoza, lead the Temple women's team against Saint Louis in our final doubleheader of the season.

Go Owls.

Sunday afternoon, at halftime of our game against Rhode Island, we will honor one of the greatest teams in the
Temple basketball, the 1969 Owl team that won the NIT Championship.

It is very important for our present team to always remember who has preceded them and certainly the ’68-69 NIT
Championship team, coached by the legendary Harry Litwack, is a very much a part of our Temple basketball history, It was a great stretch run that they made to the title.

My fondest remembrance of that team and its accomplishments actually happened many years later when I was watching a piece on the old PRISM network. In that piece one of the seniors on that team, Joe Cromer, talked about how, as great a victory as it was to win the championship against Boston College, the players felt so bad for John Baum for not getting to be the MVP that they all just went home afterwards. No celebration. That is how badly they felt for their guy, John Baum. It said a lot about the leadership that John had for that team, and the love and
passion for the game that those guys had. That passion is what made them such a special team.

So come out and join me in helping to honor Temple’s past, and also celebrate the future as we take on a really
talented Rhode Island Rams team. You will also be able to see my coaching colleague, Tonya Cardoza, lead the Temple women’s team against Saint Louis in our final doubleheader of the season.

Go Owls