PREFERS TEMPLE'S OFFENSE TO PRINCETON'S
Temple released its nonconference basketball schedule today and the Owls will play host to Kansas and Villanova at the Liacouras Center.
The Jayhawks, the 2008 national champions, will visit Temple on Jan. 2. Villanova, which lost in the Final Four this past season to eventual national champion North Carolina, will visit the Liacouras Center on Dec. 13. This will be Kansas' first trip to Temple since Dec. 30, 1940.
"This is clearly a terrific schedule with opponents from some of the top basketball conferences in the country," Temple coach Fran Dunphy said in a news release. "We are looking forward to the challenge."
Temple will open its season at Delaware in mid-November as part of the Philly Hoop Group Classic. The date is yet to be finalized. The Owls will visit Big East power Georgetown on Nov. 17. The Owls' home opener will be Nov. 21 against Siena, which has won NCAA Tournament games in consecutive seasons.
The Owls also will play host to NIT champion Penn State on Dec. 5. Temple will play Virginia Tech on Nov. 27 at the Palestra and St. John's on Nov. 28 at the Palestra. Other Liacouras Center nonconference games will be against Ball State and Bowling Green. Dates and times have not been determined.
The Owls will play at Western Michigan on Dec. 1; at Miami (Ohio) on Dec. 8; at Seton Hall on Dec. 19; at Northern Illinois on Dec. 30; and at Penn on Jan. 13. Dates and times for the Owls' Atlantic 10 portion of the schedule will be released at a later date.
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FRAN DUNPHY, Temple
He begins his third season on North Broad with nearly 350 career victories after a long tenure at Penn. The Owls won the Atlantic 10 Tournament last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
BRUISER FLINT, Drexel
He begins his eighth season with the Dragons after returning to the city where he played collegiately at St. Joe’s. The Dragons have advanced to the postseason in four of the last six years and have won at least 17 games four times under Flint.
DR. JOHN GIANNINI, La Salle
He begins his fifth season at the school after successful tenures at the University of Maine and Rowan, where teams made two trips to the Division III Final Four. At LaSalle two seasons ago, he engineered an 18-win season and third-place finish in the Atlantic 10, the school’s best finish since joining the league for the 1995-96 season.
PHIL MARTELLI, Saint Joseph’s
He begins his 14th season on Hawk Hill, having won more than 250 games. He is a four-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year and has taken the Hawks to the postseason in seven of the last eight years.
GLEN MILLER, Penn
He begins his third season at the school after moving within the Ivy League from Brown. In his first season, he led the Quakers to an Ivy League championship and their third consecutive NCAA Tournament bid.
JAY WRIGHT, Villanova
He begins his eighth season at ‘Nova, having amassed 148 wins at the school. Villanova has made the NCAA Tournament for the last four seasons, including three trips to the Sweet 16 and an Elite Eight appearance. Wright came to Villanova following his tenure at Hofstra and has 270 career victories.
