Temple University Athletics
MEN'S BASKETBALL RETURNS TO ACTION IN A-10 OPENER AT UMASS WEDNESDAY NIGHT
1.3.05 | Men's Basketball
AMHERST, MA - Temple starts its New Year off with a bang, playing a road game Wednesday night (8:00 p.m./CN8/WPHT 1210 AM) against one of the hottest teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference - the UMass Minutemen. Under the direction of fourth-year head coach Steve Lappas, the Minutemen have posted a 6-4 record, including a 61-59 upset of then #7 Connecticut (12/9).
Rashaun Freeman, the 2004 A-10 Rookie of the Year, leads the Minutemen. The 6-9 sophomore center leads his squad in both scoring (15.7 ppg.) and rebounding (7.9 rpg.). Senior Anthony Anderson (10.9 ppg.) and sophomore Art Bowers (10.7 ppg.) provide Lappas with one of the league's top backcourts. The duo has combined for 36 three-pointers.
The Owls, 4-5, are led by the consistent play of junior Mardy Collins. The Temple point guard has scored in double figures in 27 straight contests and his 17.2 scoring average ranks third in the A-10. Collins also leads the nation in steals, averaging 3.9 per game. Freshman guard Mark Tyndale has started every game and averages 13.2 points per game while sophomore guard Dustin Salisbery (10.6 ppg.) has provided an offensive spark off the bench.
Temple-UMass is still one of the best rivalries in the Atlantic 10 and it was never more evident than last year. The Minutemen delayed Hall of Fame Coach John Chaney his 700th career win by one game with a 66-65 win at the Mullins Center on Jan. 24. The Owls came back to post a 98-92 double-overtime win on March 3.
TEMPLE NOTES:
LONG LAYOFFS: Temple is currently in the midst of a 16-day layoff. The Owls defeated Princeton, 48-46, on Dec. 20 and will not play again until opening the conference season at UMass on Jan. 5. Under John Chaney, the Owls are 8-3 in games following a break of 10 days or more, including last year's 59-50 win at Indiana on Jan. 3 (14 days betw. games). The losses include #24 Rhode Island (74-64, 1/1/98), #17 La Salle (63-62, 1/3/90) and Stetson (79-73, 1/29/83).
FOR OPENERS: Temple opens its Atlantic 10 Conference schedule with Massachusetts. The Owls are 16-6 in A-10 openers, all under head coach John Chaney. Temple had won five straight conference openers before falling at G. Washington, 78-60, in last year's opener (1/7/04).
HAPPY NEW YEAR: Temple owns a 17-5 record in its first game following a New Year under John Chaney.
DOWN TO THE WIRE: Six of Temple's nine games have been decided by three points or less. The Owls are 3-3 in those contests, defeating Villanova (53-52), Penn (52-51) and Princeton (48-46) while losing to Auburn (80-78), Arizona State (65-62) and #5 Wake Forest (67-64). The Owls also dropped a four-point decision (75-71) at #19 Alabama.
THEY SHOOT, THEY SCORE: Temple has won 36 straight games when shooting better than its opponents. In John Chaney's 23 years at the helm, the Owls are 351-25 (93.4%) when out-shooting the opposition. The last time Temple lost when shooting better than its opponent was January 23, 2002, a 75-68 loss to Richmond. The Owls are 2-0 this year when shooting better than their foes.
RETURNING CHAMPS: Temple led the nation in fewest turnovers per game for the second straight season in 2003-04, averaging a mere 8.96 miscues per contest. The 260 turnovers committed by the Owls last season were also a record-low for the program. In John Chaney's 23 years at Temple, the Owls have averaged 10 turnovers or less 10 times. The best average for a Temple team under Chaney came during the 1992-93 season when the Owls posted an 8.54 turnovers per game average. Also, in the 11 seasons that the conference has been tracking the statistic, the Owls have led the league in all but one season, that coming in 2001-02 when new member Richmond averaged 10.2 turnovers per game. The Owls again lead the nation in '04-05 with just 80 turnovers in their first nine games (8.9 tpg.).
MORE TOs: In the 12 years that the NCAA has been tracking fewest turnovers per game, Temple has led the nation nine times. Besides last year, the Owls ranked first nationally in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003. The three years that Temple did not lead the nation, it was among the Top 10 in the country, ranking third in 2002, fourth in 1998 and seventh in 1996.
FORTY PERCENT MARK: Since 2001-02, Temple is 40-13 (75.5%) when hitting over 40 percent from the field. The Owls are 1-2 when hitting over 40 percent in 2004-05.
