Temple Owls seek to end their NCAA Tournament dry spell

The late Temple great head coach John Chaney greeted enthusiastic fans with a hilarious response when asked if his team would be playing that season.

• “No, we won’t do anything. They will let me down again.” He said.

State of play: The 2022-23 Owls men’s basketball team will face LaSalle on Wednesday. big 5 double header at Palestra.

• Choosing them as Blackett’s dark horse can make you look like a mastermind.
• Yes, but: Temple has not played in an NCAA Tournament since 2019.

Important reasons: Despite recent struggles, temples historically One of the best basketball programs in the country.

• If you find yourself sitting next to an obsessed fan in the often unmanned area of ​​the Liacouras Center, here’s how to avoid dribbling off your feet.

Be smart: A devoted fan of the student division is known as Cherry Crusade.

Play old: Hit the good old days topics such as reminiscences about Cheney, Hall of Fame legend Lead the Owls to 5 Elite Eight appearances Between 1988 and 2001.

Name drop: Alumni Eddie Jones and Aaron Mackie are the big two to have played in the NBA.

• Jones, who spent time with the Lakers and Hornets, has been quoted by Michael Jordan as saying,savvy advocate.”
• McKee played alongside Allen Iverson for the Sixers and was awarded Sixth Man of the Year as Philly made it to the NBA Finals in 2001. It took over As Temple head coach in 2019.

🔑 McKees to Success: McKee told the Inquirer that last year’s team was more like a high school varsity team, but this year NCAA Tournament or Bust of Owls.

• Guards Damian Dunn and Khalif Battle are phenomenal scorers.
• Temple averaged nearly 22 points in seven games last season before missing the rest of the season with a broken metatarsal. He’s not afraid to take game-defining shots. Career high with six 3-pointers Lost to Richmond on November 22nd. However, he sometimes forces a shot when his teammate is likely to score.
• A teammate said,generational talent,” is averaging 12 points and 7 rebounds per game.

To the point: An owl is an owl or kaput.

• They stumbled upon a shock season-opening extra-time loss against Wagner. Temple then narrowly beat his No. 16 Villanova, and on Sunday he beat Philadelphia neighbor Drexel 73-61.

Speech bubble: Three of Temple’s losses were by 11 points combined, two of them in overtime. Owl could easily win him 6-1 instead of 3-4, which made it easier for him to enter tournaments.