South Carolina at Temple (-1) - 4:00pm Pacific

The Owls started the season with three straight losses and looked very bad.  Their opposing competition was solid (Villanova, Illinois, at Rutgers) but the team was not competitive.  They got their first win and some much needed confidence in Big Five game vs Drexel at the Palestra and since have played well.  In next game they traveled to Phoenix, AZ to take on the Sun Devils.  Temple controlled the paint and controlled the tempo of the game holding a lead throughout but just could not quite hold on.  Foul trouble and a series of one sided calls by officials aided the Sun Devils and they finally took their first lead with :35 seconds left en route to a 4 point win.  John Chaney after the game said, "I do not come on the road to be robbed, this is a good team (ASU), they did not need this.”  Temple was called for 11 more fouls and ASU shot 13 more free throws despite trailing the entire game.  The Owls returned home and built a 17 point half-time lead over Penn State and despite shooting only 20% in the second half held on for an 11 point win.  Freshman point guard Mario Taybron played all 40 minutes vs Penn State and finished with a career high 8 assists with just one turnover.  Freshman G/F Dustin Salisbery (18 points, 13 rebounds vs ASU) is also starting to come on.  Senior leader David Hawkins (21.3ppg) has seemingly been around forever and is as solid as they come.  Sophomore Maurice Collins (14.7ppg, 17.3 in last four) is a potent second scoring option and is starting to emerge as an all conference type of player.  7-foot sophomore center Keith Butler missed first game with injury and has seen limited minutes due to foul trouble, but when he is in the game, Temple controls the paint.  Butler rebounds well, blocks shots (17 in 5 games in limited minutes), and is becoming more of an inside scoring threat.

 

South Carolina comes in with a perfect 8-0 record but an RPI ranking of just 88.  Their schedule has been full of cupcakes.  They only beat three meaningful teams: SMS, Richmond, and Clemson.  SMS and Richmond were on a neutral court in Kansas City.  Richmond was shorthanded in the loss and SMS is just not very good right now.  The Gamecocks did win at Clemson by 15, but the Tigers gave the game away by committing 27 turnovers.  Starting a true freshman at point guard Clemson had 16 turnovers in the first half alone and still were winning by 3 at half-time.  The Tigers actually had a lead with about 11 minutes to play so the game was a lot closer than the final score indicates.  I was not impressed by the Gamecocks much at all.  They have rebounding issues (outrebounded by 7 at Clemson, by 5 vs SMS, and by 5 vs Richmond) as top inside player Rolando Howell remains suspended for three more games.  Their ball handling and decision making also appear to be suspect.  This will be their third straight road game but first "true" road game outside the state of South Carolina.  This team is still untested. 

 

South Carolina just finished finals and will be playing their first game in nine days.  More importantly, two players, starting point guard Michael Boynton and reserve forward Ivan Howell will be attending graduation ceremonies at 3:30pm on campus.  They are planning to leave immediately after receiving diploma's and catch a flight to Philadelphia for the 7:00pm game.  They are expected to play but Boynton will not start.  He is the teams best three point shooter, assist leader, and is second on the team in minutes played.  If you graduate from college and lose a basketball game, I would still consider it a good day.  Temple will be out to avenge a 66-47 loss at South Carolina last year.  Temple needs some quality wins in a hurry if the rest of their season is going to be meaningful.  Four of their next five games are on the road (Miami Fla, Indiana, GW, Dayton).  This is a game they really need to have.  No coach is better at playing possum than Temple's John Cheney, but after seeing how well this team played on the road vs a good Arizona State team, despite unfavorable officiating, I know they are capable of winning at home tonight.

 

Temple  1 UNIT