2008–09 Temple Owls men's basketball team

2008–09 Temple Owls men's basketball
A-10 Tournament Champions
NCAA Tournament, First Round
Conference Atlantic 10 Conference
2008–09 record 22–12 (11–5 A-10)
Head coach Fran Dunphy
Assistant coach Dave Duke
Assistant coach Matt Langel
Assistant coach Shawn Trice
Home arena Liacouras Center
2008–09 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
#20 Xavier 12 4   .750     27 8   .771
Dayton 11 5   .688     27 8   .771
Rhode Island 11 5   .688     23 11   .676
Temple 11 5   .688     22 12   .647
Duquesne 9 7   .563     21 13   .618
La Salle 9 7   .563     18 13   .581
Richmond 9 7   .563     20 16   .556
Saint Joseph's 9 7   .563     17 15   .531
Saint Louis 8 8   .500     18 14   .563
UMass 7 9   .438     12 18   .400
St. Bonaventure 6 10   .375     15 15   .500
Charlotte 5 11   .313     11 20   .355
George Washington 4 12   .250     10 18   .357
Fordham 1 15   .063     3 25   .107
† Atlantic 10 Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2008–09 Temple Owls men's basketball team represented Temple University in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by head coach Fran Dunphy and played their home games at the Liacouras Center. The Owls are members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 22–12 and 11–5 in A-10 play. They won the 2009 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament for the second consecutive year to receive the conference's automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.

Dionte Christmas led Temple in three statistics: points per game (19.5), three-pointers completed (107), and total steals (51); he finished second in two more: rebounds per game (5.5) and assists (28).[1] In addition, he was an honorable mention All-American and scored 2,000 points over his college basketball career. Also graduating were two other starters: 7–0 center Sergio Olmos, who was selected as an All-A10 Tournament player, and point guard Semaj Inge.[2]

Preseason

On October 28, 2008, the Owls were picked by other Atlantic 10 coaches to finish second, behind Xavier, and received 12 first place votes. Dionte Christmas was chosen to the Preseason First Team after leading the league in scoring the past two seasons. Lavoy Allen was named to the Preseason Defensive Team.[3]

Roster

# Name Height Weight (lbs.) Position Class Hometown High School
2 Ryan Brooks 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 pounds (91 kg) G Jr. Narberth, Pennsylvania U.S. Lower Merion HS
4 Juan Fernandez 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 pounds (82 kg) G Fr. Río Tercero, Córdoba Argentina Dr. Alexis Carrel HS
10 Luis Guzman 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 pounds (91 kg) G Jr. New York City, New York U.S. Paramus Catholic HS
11 T.J. DiLeo 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 pounds (88 kg) G Fr. Cinnaminson, New Jersey U.S. Cinnaminson HS
15 Semaj Inge 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 pounds (86 kg) G Sr. Camden, New Jersey U.S. Woodrow Wilson HS
21 Rafael DeLeon 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 pounds (91 kg) F Jr. District Heights, Maryland U.S. Bishop McNamara HS
22 Dionte Christmas 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 pounds (93 kg) G Sr. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania U.S. Lutheran Christian Academy
23 Ramone Moore 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 pounds (82 kg) G Fr. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania U.S. South Philadelphia HS
24 Lavoy Allen 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 pounds (102 kg) F So. Morrisville, Pennsylvania U.S. Pennsbury HS
30 Craig Williams 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 pounds (110 kg) F So. Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands U.S. St. Croix Central HS
33 Scootie Randall 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 pounds (93 kg) F Fr. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania U.S. Communications Tech HS
41 Sergio Olmos 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 220 pounds (100 kg) C Sr. Valencia Spain Vincente Blasco Ibanez HS
50 Micheal Eric 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 pounds (110 kg) F/C Fr. Lagos Nigeria Church Farm School

Schedule

2008–09 game log
2012–13 season schedule

Season

Preconference season

Dionte Christmas scored 35 points to lead Temple past #8 Tennessee on December 13 88–72. This was Temple's first win over a top ten team since the 2006 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament, when the Owls upset #6 George Washington; John Chaney was coaching Temple at the time. The Owls started the game with an 8–0 lead and never faltered, with Tennessee only tying the score at 15 and never leading. Christmas started the second half with a three-pointer and scored three consecutive threes on a 17–6 run. For the game, he was 7-for-14 from the perimeter and 12-for-22 from the field. Sergio Olmos's 19 points were a career high, and Ryan Brooks registered a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds.[4]

Postseason

Temple was given a four seed in the 2009 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament; they received a bye and faced Saint Joseph's in the quarterfinals.[5]

In the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, Temple was seeded eleventh in the South Regional, where they faced the sixth-seeded Arizona State Sun Devils in the first round. On March 20, 2009, behind a then career-high 22 points by Sun Devil Derek Glasser, Arizona State eliminated Temple 66–57. The Owls never had a lead, but cut the deficit to 52–49, the closest the game ever got. Temple's offense went without a field goal in the final 5:02. However, their defense held Arizona State star James Harden to nine points, less than half his season average, and 1-of-8 shooting. Dionte Christmas played all 40 minutes, shot 5-for-11 from behind the arc and scored 29 points in his final collegiate game.[6]

References

  1. "Team Preview: Temple". Blue Ribbon Yearbook. ESPN. 22 October 2009. Retrieved December 21, 2009.
  2. "2009–10 Temple Men's Basketball Media Guide: Preview" (PDF). Temple Owls. Temple University. Retrieved December 22, 2009.
  3. "Xavier The Choice To Seize 2008–09 A-10 Men's Basketball Title". Atlantic 10 Conference. October 28, 2008. Retrieved December 15, 2010.
  4. "Christmas' season-high 35 points lead Temple past No. 8 Tennessee". ESPN (ESPN Internet Ventures). Associated Press. December 13, 2008. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
  5. "2009 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament". Dayton Daily News (Cox Ohio Publishing). March 11, 2009. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  6. "Harden struggles, but Arizona State still puts away Temple". ESPN (ESPN Internet Ventures). Associated Press. March 20, 2009. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
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