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Temple serves notice

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Posted: Monday February 21, 2000 02:15 PM

By Albert Lin, CNNSI.com

	• Our New Favorite Player • High Five/Riding the Pine • Storylines • Don't Miss It • Brendan Haywood Watch

This is the Temple team everyone expected to see at the beginning of the season. Airtight defense. Disciplined, patient, efficient offense. Mistake-free basketball. Taking an opponent out of its game.

The Owls were written off when point guard Pepe Sanchez missed eight games because of an ankle sprain; the injury was so severe that coach John Chaney talked about redshirting the senior. But as America saw Sunday, when Temple went to Cincinnati and knocked off the No. 1 Bearcats, everything is now back to normal in the City of Brotherly Love, with Sanchez leading the way and the Owls once again a threat to make the Final Four.

Sanchez is the key. Without him, Temple went 5-3; since his return the Owls have won 14 of 15. Sanchez's presence relieves Quincy Wadley and Lynn Greer from ballhandling responsibilities, allowing them to do what they do best -- fill it up from the outside, as they demonstrated yesterday. Sanchez also gets the ball to Lamont Barnes and Mark Karcher in better scoring position.

Temple's greatest weakness is that Karcher is the team's only consistent scorer -- if he's off, the Owls have no other place to go for a needed two. Barnes has never blossomed as many thought he would, and center Kevin Lyde hardly ever touches the ball. Lack of depth is also a concern, but it is one Chaney has dealt with his entire career.

This is Chaney's best team since his 1988 Mark Macon- led squad finished the season ranked No. 1. Three times since -- including last year -- the Owls have reached the Elite Eight with inferior talent. This starting unit can stay with any in the country, and the matchup zone keeps the Owls in most every game, even when they're struggling to hit shots. If ever Temple is to make the Final Four, this is the year.

Troy Murphy, so., F, Notre Dame

We still wish Murphy had matriculated at a bigger school, but he seems to be garnering enough recognition on his own and looks like he'll be the guy to take Notre Dame back to the NCAA tournament (if not this year, then next). Truth be told, we had him as a preseason third-team All-America mainly because of his impressive freshman numbers, but we didn't expect anything close to what he's done this season. If not for a guy named Kenyon Martin, Murphy would be the leading candidate for player of the year. And even with Martin around, if Cincinnati wasn't as good or if Notre Dame was better, Murphy still might give Martin a run for his money. This 6'10" lefty reminds us of Toni Kukoc, though Murphy is a more effective rebounder and not as strong a ballhandler. When it comes to putting the ball in the basket, they're remarkably similar. Both prefer launching jumpers but can operate in the post if necessary. Both are good passers. But Murphy has one important characteristic Kukoc lacks: He has proven that he can be the Man, while Kukoc prefers to play second (or third) fiddle.

HIGH FIVE Brian Wardle: Marquette's one-man team tallies every Warriors point (17) in first half of 55-35 loss to DePaul.

HIGH FIVE Anthony Williams: Scores career-high 22 as Vandy completes sweep of Tennessee to take state title.

HIGH FIVE Larry Abney: Grabs 35 rebounds -- most in Division I since 1965 -- in Fresno State's loss to SMU (which had only 39).

HIGH FIVE Bobby Cremins: Kudos for stepping down upon realizing that he can't do anything more for Georgia Tech, rather than holding on for no reason.

HIGH FIVE Jaquay Walls: Lights it up in Colorado's upset of Iowa State, pouring in 42 points, including off-balance 35-footer to send game in overtime.

RIDING THE PINE Joel Przybilla: There are more mature ways to to get out of school if you want to turn pro.

RIDING THE PINE Roy Williams: Your team is struggling and you allow Lester Earl back on the squad?

RIDING THE PINE UCLA: Routed by Arizona even though the Wildcats were without two starters -- Richard Jefferson and Loren Woods.

Planting seeds

Barring upsets/runs in conference tournaments, this last stretch of the regular season is where teams will solidify their NCAA tournament seeds. Of particular interest is the No. 1 seed in the South, which Arizona seems to have grabbed onto with Tennessee's loss to Vanderbilt.

Hysterical Hoosiers?

Is Indiana starting its seemingly annual late-season slide? The Hoosiers dropped from 10th to 16th in the latest AP poll following a home loss to Ohio State, and with a game against Michigan State on tap, things don't get any easier. Will a weak finish renew cries for Bob Knight to follow Bobby Cremins' lead?

Texas at Iowa State, Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET

Two of the best big men in the country square off as Chris Mihm and the Longhorns visit Ames to take on Marcus Fizer and the Cyclones. Iowa State is coming off a loss and Texas as been a little inconsistent, so we look for the Cyclones to bounce back -- before Saturday's showdown with Oklahoma State.

St. John's at Duke, Saturday, 4 p.m.

These two produced one of last season's best games, a 92-88 overtime thriller at Madison Square Garden, with Duke winning despite 40 from St. John's Bootsy Thornton. We've never been particularly impressed by the Red Storm, so we'll stick with the Devils at Cameron.

Louisville at Cincinnati, Sunday, 7:30 p.m.

Any chance to watch the Cardinals against another uptempo team is a treat. Louisville seems to play its best in big games, and opponents don't come bigger than the Bearcats. Homecourt gives the edge to Cincy.

In the tradition of last season's William Avery Watch, we return to Tobacco Road to follow the trials and tribulations of another underachieving player whose improvement is crucial to his team's success. This 7-footer grabbed one rebound in the final two games of last season (losses to Duke in the ACC Tournament and Weber State in the NCAA Tournament), covering 57 minutes of playing time.

1999-00 stats: 13.4 pts., 6.9 rebs., 2.3 blks. in 28.5 minutes per game

Total non-factor with a completely uninspiring 10 points, four rebounds and two blocks as the Heels were manhandled by Virginia. Haywood is truly proving to be an underachiever worthy of having a weekly watch. He should go 1-for-2 this week -- with a weaker opponent in Florida State before facing Maryland -- but we were dead wrong about his level of success against UVa, so ...

Come back every Monday afternoon for a new College Basketball Week at a Glance.

 

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