Senior guard Juan Fernandez led Temple to a too-close-for-comfort win against Big 5 rival Penn in the Owls' season opener. Now Temple jumps from the local spotlight to the national spotlight in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off match against Western Michigan.
The Owls schedule delivers the Broncos at 10:30 a.m. in a game that can be watched on TV (ESPNU) or online stream (ESPN3.com).
The Owls looking to build on a season in which it got to the tournament and won a first-round game.
"I think we're basically very similar to what we were last year without the aid of Lavoy Allen, who was a terrific defensive player for us," head coach Fran Dunphy said at the tournament media day. "That's where we have to get better. Mike Eric is our biggest guy, 6'10" and a half. Power player inside. He's improving. I think he's going to score a lot more for us this year. We'll certainly need that.
"The defensive end is where I'm most concerned about," Dunphy continued. "I think everybody is working hard as a team to get better at that."
Also worth noting, ESPN.com's Dana O'Neil put Temple's Scootie Randall on her tournament watch list:
Before breaking his foot in February, the guard was on the verge of something special, averaging 15 points per game in conference play. Without Lavoy Allen, the Owls need Randall to be every bit as good this season.
The complete Puerto Rico Tip-Off bracket can be found on the tournament Web site.
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