Temple University Athletics
Temple University
Kent State
Men's Basketball Opens Season Tuesday in ESPN Game at Kent State
11.11.12 | Men's Basketball
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PHILADELPHIA - Temple opens its 2012-13 men's basketball season at Kent State Tuesday with a nationally-televised noon tip-off that is part of the 2012 ESPN College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon. The game will be televised on ESPN and broadcast on 1210 AM WPHT.
It marks the second time the Owls have opened a campaign at Kent State with the previous occasion coming in Fran Dunphy's first game as the Owls' head coach on November 15, 2006. The Golden Flashes won that contest, 63-54, in a season the Owls would post a 12-18 record. Since then Dunphy has led his charges to a 122-47 mark and five straight NCAA Tournaments, one of only 13 schools to have accomplished the feat.
Temple returns eights letterwinners from last year's Atlantic 10 Regular Season champions. They also add three veterans, - senior forward Scootie Randall, graduate student forward Jake O'Brien and junior forward Dalton Pepper- and with three freshman - Quenton DeCosey, Daniel Dingle and Devontae Watson - to the fold, providing Dunphy with his deepest Temple team in his seven years at the helm.
Senior guard Khalif Wyatt, a preseason first team all-league selection, leads the Cherry and White. Wyatt, an explosive player, is the A10's top returning scorer (17.1 ppg.) and is among the league's top stealers (2.2 spg.) and assist men (3.3 apg.). Senior forward Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson is the other returning starter. Providing a strong inside presence, Hollis-Jefferson (9.3 ppg.) is the team's top rebounder (6.6 rpg.) and ranks 11th on TU's alltime field goal percentage list (.522).
Look for sophomore guard Will Cummings (1.4 ppg.) to take over as the team's point guard while sophomore forward Anthony Lee (5.0 ppg., 5.2 rpg.) will join Randall (10.7 ppg.) as the other two likely starters in the front court.
Graduate student guard T.J. DiLeo (2.9 ppg.) will see plenty of action again as one of the team's top defenders as Dunphy will likely go 10 or 11 deep this season.
Senior Randal Holt represents the lone returning starter from last year's 21-12 Kent State team. An Honorable Mention All-MAC selection a year ago, he averaged 12.7 points per game and hit 73 three-pointers while connecting on 39% from beyond the arc. It was senior forward Chris Kent, however, who led the Golden Flashes to their 66-62 OT win over Drexel in their season-opener Friday. Kent scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the win.
