Tonight’s Big 5 contest in Philly is going to be weird for a lot of people, with a former coach returning to the arena he called home for 17 generally outstanding seasons to face the program he re-built. Against that backdrop, it’s a very big game for the league, as Ivy teams need to win all three of their remaining non-league games to finish over .500.
Temple (7-10) at Penn (10-6, 2-0 Ivy) – 8:00 pm ET (CN8)
Live stats | CN8 video | Temple audio | Penn audio
A sizable contingent of former Quakers who played for Fran Dunphy has made a big production out of staying away from The Palestra this year, opting to show up at Temple games and even traveling down to Duke to cheer on the Owls. We’ll see if the Dunphy Exiles will be sporting cherry and white tonight and sitting behind the visiting bench to show their displeasure with their alma mater for forcing Dunphy to take a higher-profile job for double his old salary. One thing is certain: with Penn’s entire 2005-06 coaching staff now over on North Broad, the Owls are going to have the mother of all scouting reports on the Quakers. They’ll need it, as Temple enters the game losers of six of seven, with an 0-2 mark in Big 5 play and an 0-8 record against Top 100 opponents. Penn will be looking to break a string of close defeats at the hands of the Owls, having dropped games by four, one, and four points the past three seasons.
Temple has not fared well under Dunphy in second halves this year. The Owls have come out strong, outpacing their opponents 611-554 in the first half on the season. But whether it’s a lack of depth or poor in-game adjustments, Temple has been outscored by a 673-597 margin in the second period. The Owls are a small team, with seven-foot project Sergio Olmos the only true big man in the rotation. Consequently, they’re getting killed on the boards at 27.4 percent offensively and 62.6 percent defensively, making them one of the weakeast rebounding teams in the nation. Dunphy has managed to make the Owls into a shockingly shooting team (36.2 percent from three), and like a typical Dunphy team, they take excellent care of the ball, ranking 18th nationally in turnover rate at just 17.6 percent. It’s the defense that has let down Temple during this recent poor stretch of play, as the defensive efficiency has been downright awful at 1.23 points allowed per possession over the past seven games. With two offensive minded teams facing off, don’t be surprised to see another unconventionally high-scoring Big 5 game.
Pomeroy says: Temple 74, Penn 82
