The Sports Network
DATE & TIME: Tuesday, March 25th, 7:30 p.m. (et).
FACTS & STATS: Site: Ryan Center (7,571) -- Kingston, Rhode Island. Television: None. NIT Record: Temple 19-11, Rhode Island 8-10. Series Record: Temple leads, 44-11.
GAME NOTES: Two teams very familiar with one another go at it for the third time this season, as the Atlantic 10 takes center stage, with the Temple Owls making the trip north to tangle with the Rhode Island Rams in NIT second round action from the Ryan Center in Kingston this evening. The Owls did the impossible after going 3-11 to open up the 2002-03 season, as their first- round victory over Boston College on Saturday (75-62) assured the team of a winning record this season (17-15 overall). The Owls posted a 68-59 win over Drexel in opening round action just three days prior. John Chaney's Owls improved their NIT record to 19-11, including two NIT titles (1938 and 1969). Last season, the Owls advanced to New York but finished third, losing to NIT champion Memphis in the semifinals. Fellow Atlantic 10 East member Rhode Island needed every second of its first-round game to defeat Seton Hall (61-60), improving to 12-4 at the new Ryan Center this season. Rhode Island is making its 10th NIT appearance and first since 1996. The team made it as far as the championship game back in 1946, but lost that contest. Temple has owned this series, especially of late, bringing a seven-game win streak against the Rams into this contest. The Owls are trying to complete the three-game sweep this season, after posting a 71-68 win at the Ryan Center on January 22nd, followed by a 69-64 win at the Liacouras Center on February 19th.
Junior guard David Hawkins is beginning to heat up and that can't be good for the rest of the competition in the NIT. The 6-4 Hawkins lit up Boston College over the weekend, erupting for a career-high 36 points, in leading the Owls to a 13-point win over the Eagles at the Palestra. Hawkins was 11-of-16 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from behind the arc, while grabbing seven rebounds in the game. Scoring help came from the other two guards in the starting lineup, as Maurice Collins poured in 17 points and doled out five assists, while Brian Polk chipped in a dozen points, including three three-pointers. The Owls' stingy defense perplexed the usually explosive Eagles, who managed to shoot just .429 from the floor, including .200 from three-point range (3-of-15). Temple did a superb job on Big East Player of the Year Troy Bell, who finished with just 15 points, 10 points below his season-average. As a whole, Temple's scoring average (67.0 ppg) seems a bit low, but the Owls have solid depth, with four players averaging double figures. Hawkins leads the way with his 17.3 ppg, followed by forward Alex Wesby (12.8 ppg), Polk (12.5 ppg) and Collins (12.0 ppg). Wesby is the team's top rebounder, grabbing 5.6 boards per outing.
There is still some magic left in Rhode Island's season, as the team overcame a 17-point deficit in the season half, to post an improbable one-point win over the Pirates in first-round action. The Rams took a 61-60 lead (their only of the game) thanks to a three-pointer by Dawan Robinson with just over four seconds remaining in the game, holding on for the victory. Robinson led the way offensively with 17 points, including 3-of-4 from behind the arc. Senior forward Lazare Adingono was the only other Ram in double figures, tallying 12, all of which came from long range (four three-pointers). Brian Woodward added eight points, but made more of a contribution on the boards, hauling in a game-high 10 caroms. Like Temple, Rhode Island doesn't put up an enormous amount of points (70.3 ppg), but gets its offense from varied sources, with four players boasting double-digit averages. Woodward paces the team in both scoring (14.2 ppg) and rebounding (6.0 rpg). Dustin Hellenga follows with 13.0 ppg, with Adingono and Robinson not far behind at 11.9 and 11.2 ppg, respectively.
Temple simply has Rhode Island's number of late and after a slow start, the Owls have really come on strong down the stretch. They own one of the four wins for a visiting team in Kingston this season and should be able to make it two out of five, with a victory similar to the other two this season -- low scoring and close.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Temple 71, Rhode Island 66
