Temple University Athletics
MEN'S BASKETBALL LOOKS TO SLAY THE DRAGONS IN NIT MATCH-UP AT THE LIACOURAS CENTER TUESDAY EVENING
3.17.03 | Men's Basketball
The Owls have a 17-11 all-time record in the NIT. Temple placed third in the NIT last season, defeating Syracuse 65-54 in the consolation game after losing to eventual champion Memphis 78-77 in the semifinal. The Owls have won two NIT titles, in 1938 and 1969. Current radio color analyst and Temple Hall of famer John Baum was captain of the 1969 squad under coach Harry Litwack.
The Owls and Dragons are meeting for the 34th time on the hardwood in a series that dates back to 1901-02, with Temple holding a 25-8 advantage in victories. The teams last met on March 18, 1994, when the Owls defeated Drexel 61-39 in an NCAA Tournament opening-round game at U.S. Air Arena in Landover, Md.
Temple is coming off a 79-72 loss to No. 22-ranked Dayton in the Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship final on the Flyers' home floor last Saturday. The Owls were unable to overcome a 17-point first-half deficit in TU's 13th A-10 title game in 21 seasons as a member of the conference. Brian Polk scored a game-high 22 points on 7-12 shooting, including 4-7 from behind the arc, to lead three Owls in double figures. David Hawkins and Maurice Collins scored 20 and 16 points, respectively. The Flyers held a 37-29 advantage in rebounds and posted 17 more assists (20-3) than the Cherry & White.
Polk was named to the 2003 A-10 All-Tournament Team after averaging 22.3 points-per-game in the Championships.
Drexel is coming off a 72-60 loss to North Carolina-Wilmington in the CAA Tournament final in Richmond, Va. on March 10. The Dragons are led by senior center and Philadelphia native Robert Battle, who paces the team with 15.3 point and 8.1 rebound per-game averages.
