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Atlantic 10 Semifinals Recap(1) Temple 57, (5) Rhode Island 44
Temple earned the top seed in the Atlantic 10 Tournament thanks to playing suffocating man-to-man defense all season. Although guards Juan Fernandez and Ryan Brooks have more than a bit of sizzle to their games, Temple's modus operandi is to dig in and get it done at the business end of the court. The Owls certainly did so on Saturday, bullying the high-octane Rhode Island Rams into 27.1 % shooting for the game and holding them to 44 points, which is Rhody's lowest point total since December 2005. The Big Picture: In the field of 65 regardless of what happened in the A-10 Tournament, Temple pitched a hoops equivalent of a shutout today over a Rhode Island squad that needed this win to solidify a sketchy Big Dance resume. Not only were the Owls dominant on the defensive end of the court for the second A-10 tourney game in a row; they were typically efficient on offense. Fernandez dished out 7 dimes without a turnover, and the other two members of Temple's big three, Ryan Brooks and Lavoy Allen, combined to shoot 8-of-16 from the floor. That's in sharp contrast to Rhody's big three – Keith Cothran, Delroy James, and Lamonte Ulmer – who combined to shoot 10-of-29 on the game. Given the struggles of those players, it’s no surprise that Jim Baron's squad got beaten soundly today. The Good: Could the Owls be the Manny Pacquiao of college hoops? Much like boxing's top pound-for-pound fighter, the Owls don't save their best for last, or any such nonsense. They play withering defense from the tip-off, while Fernandez relentlessly probes opposing defensive schemes with dribble penetration. Brooks and Allen start knocking down shots, and next thing you know Temple's opponent is on the ropes, as the Owls gear up for the knockout run. Rhody got this treatment in today's semifinal while St. Bona got it in Friday's quarterfinal. Fran Dunphy's squad started the game with a 7-0 run and barely looked back on its way to taking a 34-17 halftime lead. Just as they did versus Bona on Friday, the Owls extended that lead in the first several minutes of the second stanza, going up by as many as 22 points before Rhody rallied. When a team plays defense as well as Temple does, a 22-point second-half lead is more secure than any man-sized safe Dick Cheney ever kept around.
The Bad: An argument can be made that Jim Baron's Rams shouldn't need to win the Atlantic 10 to gain entree into the Big Dance (it is an argument that we're amenable to). However, they did little to bolster their resume today, trailing from buzzer to buzzer, and never really making any sort of run that threatened Temple’s lead. If they find themselves on the outside looking in tomorrow evening at about 6:30 p.m., today's game may very well be the reason why. The Ugly: Normally, we would call Rhody out for repeatedly chucking up triples today, even though the Rams weren't making them. We're not going to do that since shooting from range is Rhody's game. Instead, we're just going to say that it wasn't pretty or fun watching the Rams shoot 20 % from three-point range in the second half today. What's Next? Temple can further cement and burnish its national reputation by beating Richmond in the A-10 tourney final tomorrow. The Spiders are actually the last team to beat the Owls, knocking them off 71-54 in Richmond on February 6. Expect Temple to start quickly again, seeking to gain a measure of revenge.
By: Tim Coyne |