FINALLY! Temple's 2012-13 Schedule is Fully Announced

Let's take our first glimpse at the 2012-13 schedule for Temple basketball. We'll take a deeper look at this year's matchups over the course of the month. Notice that the Owls will be on television 14 times this season. Plenty of challenging matchups from Villanova, Duke, Syracuse, Kansas as well to the entire slate of conference play.

Date	Opponent	Time	TV Coverage
11/13	at Kent State	12:00 PM	ESPN
11/17	RICE	TBD	-
11/25	DELAWARE	TBD	-
11/28	at Buffalo	TBD	-
12/1	WAGNER	TBD	-
12/5	at Villanova	9:00 PM	ESPN2
12/8	vs. Duke	3:15 PM	ESPN
12/12	TOWSON	TBD	-
12/17	GOTHAM CLASSIC #1	TBD	-
12/19	GOTHAM CLASSIC #2	TBD	-
12/22	at Syracuse *	12:00 PM	ESPN2
12/29	GOTHAM CLASSIC #3	TBD	-
12/31	BOWLING GREEN	TBD	-
1/6	at Kansas	1:30/4:30 PM	CBS
1/10	at Xavier	TBD	CBS SNR
1/12	SAINT LOUIS	6:00 PM	ESPNU
1/16	at George Washington	TBD	-
1/19	ST. BONAVENTURE	1:00 PM	CBS SNR
1/23	PENNSYLVANIA	TBD	-
1/26	at Butler	6:00 PM	ESPN2
1/30	RICHMOND	TBD	-
2/2	at Saint Joseph's	6:00 PM	CBS SN
2/6	CHARLOTTE	TBD	-
2/9	at Dayton	11:00 AM	ESPNU
2/14	DUQUESNE	TBD	-
2/16	at Massachusetts	6:00 PM	CBS SN
2/21	LA SALLE	7:00 PM	CBS SN
2/24	at Charlotte	TBD	-
3/2	RHODE ISLAND	TBD	-
3/6	at Fordham	TBD	-
3/11	VCU	12:00 PM	CBS

Owls Will Rely Heavily on Backcourt in 2012

by Tyler Sablich

On a basketball squad, there is typically no harder player to replace than your starting center. For Fran Dunphy, he has lost two of them since 2011.

We all know the stories:

Lavoy Allen was a fan favorite from the get-go. By the time his senior year rolled around, Temple had self-proclaimed itself as “Allen’s Town.” When all was said and done, Allen left North Broad as Temple’s all time leader in rebounds and 24th all time in points. Dunphy acknowledged that Allen “might be the smartest player he’s ever coached,” before he was selected in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft by his hometown team.

Michael Eric’s nagging battle with injuries hindered his growth and, at times, prevented us from witnessing the lengthy 6-11 behemoth he truly is. When Eric was at 100 percent he was a force on both sides of the ball, and an underrated one at that. In what transpired to be a sign of things to come for Eric, he recorded three double-doubles in his last five games as an Owl. He has since become a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The loss of Ramone Moore was accentuated by the transfer of Aaron Brown. Brown was poised to become Dunphy’s new go-to sharp shooter before bolting for USM. However, Khalif Wyatt is more than capable of consuming more of an offensive responsibility even in the midst of his legal troubles. Will Cummings, who will take the majority of the minutes left by Juan Fernandez, can score with ease. Dalton Pepper should also step in and at least remotely resemble the highly coveted prospect he once was.

My point is this: while Temple has certainly lost some key offensive components, they are surely fixable. With the loss of Allen in 2011 and now Eric in 2012, Dunphy’s typically big and physical front court isn’t so big or physical anymore. Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson made significant progress last year with the absence of Allen, but he is severely undersized. Anthony Lee, who may or may not show improvement this season, is as raw as anyone on the team. He is a lengthy solid rebounder, but he needs work both fundamentally and in the weight room.

With the recent addition of Jake O’Brien from Boston University, the Owls front court is a work in progress. There may be times this season where Temple fans can only look away and shake their heads while being out-rebounded or out-muscled repeatedly. Until rarities like Allen and Eric come around once again, the Owls appear set to rely heavily upon their backcourt to light up the scoreboard and win some games.

           

            

Josh Brown Recommits to Temple

Josh Brown announced earlier today that he'll be sticking with Temple as his school of choice. It was a year ago that the 6'3 guard from St. Anthony's claimed that the Owls were his dream school.

Shortly after, he committed.

A few months ago, Brown decided to reopen his commitment to reassure himself that this was the choice he wanted to make. Over the course of weeks, teams like Providence, USC, and Rhode Island approached Brown and tried to win him over. It wasn't enough.

Brown is the second member of the 2013 Owls basketball class. He joins Kyle Green, who pledged his allegiance to Temple just a few weeks ago.

We'll have more on this decision coming up.

Dunphy's Toughest Schedule?

Temple fans are accustomed to rigorous schedules. John Chaney was not afraid to play the nation's top teams week in and week out. Coach Dunphy has merely picked up where the Hall of Famer left off.

The Owls have seen their fair share of quality opens both on the road at here on North Broad. We've seen Tennessee, Villanova (as much as I hate to say it), Duke, Kansas, Maryland, Texas, Georgetown, etc. Within the Atlantic 10, there are a number of great teams that eventually earn a bid to the Big Dance. Temple consistently has one of the higher RPIs and strengths of schedule in the country.

If you take a look the matchups we know of for this year, one could make the argument that the 2012 season will be the most difficult schedule that Coach Dunphy and his team have faced since taking over in six years ago.

Several known matchups:

- Syracuse (AWAY)
- Kansas (AWAY)
- Duke (NEUTRAL)
- Xavier (AWAY)
- Saint Louis (HOME)

The Big 5 series as we know always seems to shape into a real grind when games roll around. When it comes to the city, there aren't any predetermined winners. Teams like Penn, St. Joe's, La Salle, and Villanova will giving the Owls quite the run for their money. A revamped and loaded Atlantic 10 conference will make the season that much more challenging. Tack on Butler (AWAY) and VCU (HOME), two of the top mid-major programs in the country, as well. These guys are certainly not cupcakes.

Teams will look to jump on Temple following these marquee games, viewing it as a "kick them while they're down" type of mentality. There's no denying that this year will not be a breeze.

Three of the country's premiere basketball programs will be hosting the Owls: Syracuse, Kansas, and Duke. Win or lose, these will be regular season tests that will help give us an idea of where we stand. "Impossible" (to win) is nothing; ask Duke what happened last year.

We're still waiting for the official schedule to be released, and it shouldn't be too long before we get to see this.