Temple University Athletics
Photo by: Ben Solomon/American Athletic Conference
Men's Basketball Seeded Fifth in the NIT; Heads to Penn State on Wednesday
3.11.18 | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA – Temple has been announced as a five seed in the 2018 National Invitation Tournament (NIT), and will face fourth-seeded Penn State (21-13) in State College on Wednesday, March 14. The game will tip-off at 8:00 p.m. and be televised by ESPNU. It will also be broadcast by 1210 AM WPHT.
The winner will move on to face to the winner of top-seeded Notre Dame vs. eighth-seeded Hampton.
The Owls are making their 19th NIT appearance and second in the last four seasons after advancing to the NIT Semifinals in 2015. Temple (17-15) is a two-time NIT Champion, winning in 1938 and 1969. The Owls also have two third-place finishes, the first in 1957 and more recently in 2002. Temple made five consecutive appearances from 2002-2006, losing in the first round in the last three of those seasons. The Owls' overall NIT record is 23-16.
Head coach Fran Dunphy will be coaching just his second NIT team, and is making his 18th overall trip to the postseason after coaching 16 NCAA Tournament teams including seven at Temple.
Temple is coming off an appearance in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Championships, losing 89-81 in a hard-fought game against #11/14 Wichita State. The Owls held off Tulane, 82-77 for a win in the AAC First Round.
The Owls had three players recognized with American Athletic Conference postseason awards, as freshman Nate Pierre-Louis was named to the All-Rookie Team, sophomore Quinton Rose earned Honorable Mention selection and senior Obi Enechionyia was named the AAC Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Rose, who leads Temple and ranks sixth in the AAC with 15.1 points per game, has scored 20 or more points nine times this season. Enechionyia is the team's leader in rebounds with 5.8 per game (10th in the AAC) and ranks 33rd all-time at Temple with 1,290 career points. With three assists vs. Tulane on March 8, senior Josh Brown (team-best 3.3 apg) moved into the Top 10 all-time at Temple in career assists, now standing in 10th place with 382.
Penn State is 21-13 overall and went 9-9 in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions have not earned an NCAA Tournament berth under seventh-year head coach Pat Chambers, and last appeared in the NIT in 2009, going 5-0 to win the tournament. Penn State's last postseason appearance was in the CBI in 2014, when they went 1-1, losing in the quarterfinals.
The last time the two teams met was in the postseason, getting matched up first in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, which was also the last time Penn State earned a trip to the Big Dance. Temple defeated the Nittany Lions 66-64 in the second round. All-time, the Owls lead Penn State 60-32 in a series that has spanned 91 years.
Penn State advanced to the 2018 Big Ten Tournament semifinals, and beat #17/16 Ohio State three times this season. Sophomore Tony Carr leads the Lions with 19.9 points per game and also averages a team-best 4.7 assists per game. Redshirt sophomore Mike Watkins pulls down a team-leading 8.9 rebounds per game while averaging 12.1 ppg. Sophomore Lamar Stevens and senior Shep Garner also average in double figures in scoring for Penn State.
The winner will move on to face to the winner of top-seeded Notre Dame vs. eighth-seeded Hampton.
The Owls are making their 19th NIT appearance and second in the last four seasons after advancing to the NIT Semifinals in 2015. Temple (17-15) is a two-time NIT Champion, winning in 1938 and 1969. The Owls also have two third-place finishes, the first in 1957 and more recently in 2002. Temple made five consecutive appearances from 2002-2006, losing in the first round in the last three of those seasons. The Owls' overall NIT record is 23-16.
Head coach Fran Dunphy will be coaching just his second NIT team, and is making his 18th overall trip to the postseason after coaching 16 NCAA Tournament teams including seven at Temple.
Temple is coming off an appearance in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Championships, losing 89-81 in a hard-fought game against #11/14 Wichita State. The Owls held off Tulane, 82-77 for a win in the AAC First Round.
The Owls had three players recognized with American Athletic Conference postseason awards, as freshman Nate Pierre-Louis was named to the All-Rookie Team, sophomore Quinton Rose earned Honorable Mention selection and senior Obi Enechionyia was named the AAC Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Rose, who leads Temple and ranks sixth in the AAC with 15.1 points per game, has scored 20 or more points nine times this season. Enechionyia is the team's leader in rebounds with 5.8 per game (10th in the AAC) and ranks 33rd all-time at Temple with 1,290 career points. With three assists vs. Tulane on March 8, senior Josh Brown (team-best 3.3 apg) moved into the Top 10 all-time at Temple in career assists, now standing in 10th place with 382.
Penn State is 21-13 overall and went 9-9 in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions have not earned an NCAA Tournament berth under seventh-year head coach Pat Chambers, and last appeared in the NIT in 2009, going 5-0 to win the tournament. Penn State's last postseason appearance was in the CBI in 2014, when they went 1-1, losing in the quarterfinals.
The last time the two teams met was in the postseason, getting matched up first in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, which was also the last time Penn State earned a trip to the Big Dance. Temple defeated the Nittany Lions 66-64 in the second round. All-time, the Owls lead Penn State 60-32 in a series that has spanned 91 years.
Penn State advanced to the 2018 Big Ten Tournament semifinals, and beat #17/16 Ohio State three times this season. Sophomore Tony Carr leads the Lions with 19.9 points per game and also averages a team-best 4.7 assists per game. Redshirt sophomore Mike Watkins pulls down a team-leading 8.9 rebounds per game while averaging 12.1 ppg. Sophomore Lamar Stevens and senior Shep Garner also average in double figures in scoring for Penn State.
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