Friday, March 18, 2011
Posted: 10:40 p.m.
By David Jones
CSNPhilly.com Contributor
TUCSON, Ariz.The misinformed kept peppering Fran Dunphy, Steve Fisher and their players with questions on Friday, lifting off from presumptions that just aren't true about No. 7-seed Temple's NCAA third-round matchup with second-seeded San Diego State (6:10 p.m., Saturday, TNT).
Someone asked Dunphy's Temple Owls how they will manage to slow the pace of the Aztecs and won't a snail's tempo benefit Temple? Except San Diego State's games this season have averaged fewer possessions (64) than Temple's (65).
Someone else asked about SDSU coach Fisher's two-game NCAA tournament history with Temple. We won both, he said.
Then, he had to unplug the implication and the reporter's inference:
Different coach, different program, said Fisher. So, it's different. We're playing a different team in a different time.
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Yes, those games were against John Chaney teams. One was a memorable 1993 battle against Fisher's second Fab Five outfit in the West Regional in Seattle. Temple led by nine at halftime, but saw its lead melt away when big man William Cunningham got into foul trouble. Michigan began doing what Fisher's often scattershot teams have commonly donethrow the ball up on the glass, go get it and stuff it back in from point-blank range.
At a late juncture, a frustrated Chaney, tired of seeing Chris Webber push Derek Battie around on the blocks without referee intervention, yelled to Battie: Next time he does that, knock him on his ass! A technical foul followed that essentially ended whatever suspense remained.
Anyway, if one wanted to draw some meaningful insight from ancient history, it might as well be from a game in which a Fisher team played a Dunphy team.
There's only been one of those.
Date: Dec. 13, 1994. Venue: Ann Arbor, Mich. Score: Pennsylvania 62, Michigan 60.
We had some really good players and we happened to win the game, said Dunphy. It was a terrific win for us.
Dunphy went on to tell what a good guy he thinks the 65-year-old SDSU leader is:
A better man than he is a coach.
A few moments later, the quote was related to Fisher by a reporter with the humorous suggestion that it could mean Fisher is a good coach.
Maybe, Fisher responded with a grin. He then cracked: I think the referees cost us the game.
I do remember that one. I don't remember names but I know Dunphy had guys who were lights-out shooting the ball and they beat us in our building. I took my chin to my chest and walked out.
Yes, they had some shooters: Point man Jerome Allen, whose jumper won the game with :04 left. Snipers Scott Kegler and Ira Bowman, winger Matt Maloney and current Temple assistant Shawn Trice also played for the Owls.
For Michigan, Fab Five leftovers Jimmy King and Ray Jackson along with Maurice Taylor and Maceo Baston. U-of-M was a big team that didn't shoot very well but could board you to death.
Though Dunphy's previous team in 1994 had posted Penn's only NCAA win during his tenure (1-9), this was probably his best team. In Baltimore three months later, it would frustrate and take to overtime towering and powerful Alabama with Antonio McDyess, Jason Caffey and Roy Rogers.
Why does any of this matter? Because Dunphy teams have a history of out-thinking and frustrating bigger, stronger opponents who aren't great outside shooters. And that's what the Aztecs (33-2) are. Led by sophomore All-America big forward Kawhi Leonard, they are another typical Fisher outfit. They defend, they board and they are super-athletic. But if you can manage to clean your defensive glass, you have a shot against them.
As Brigham Young showed in the two games in which it had since-suspended big forward Brandon Davies, bring a modicum of interior presence, shoot the ball well from the perimeter and the Aztecs can be had. Of course, trey-bombing BYU and Jimmer Fredette is the only team that has beaten San Diego State this year.
This is not the lock-solid potential blowout some seem to perceive; the Owls are mere six-point underdogs. But two things must happen for Temple to win this game: 1) Lavoy Allen cannot score three points, as he did against Penn State. He needs to bring his A offensive game to demand at least a few digs from the Aztecs' perimeter defenders. 2) Juan Fernandez, hopefully augmented by Khalif Wyatt or Ramon Moore, must retain the hot hand from outside he showed against Penn State on Thursday. If recovering 6-6 winger Scootie Randall (stress fracture in right foot) is worth more than six minutes this time and can bag a trey or two, all the better.
Hitting threes, maybe lots of them, is essential to winning this game. Because if the Owls (26-7) miss, they won't get many second chances. The Aztecs board like maniacs. The 6-7, 225-pound Leonard, 6-9 Malcolm Thomas and 6-8, 235-pound Billy White are men around the rim.
And then bad things can happen on long rebounds. Point man D.J. Gay is a smart, disciplined point guard who's good at knowing when to ignite run-outs. And all his big buddies can finish, often in spectacular and demoralizing fashion.
That's not to say San Diego State plays racehorse basketball because nothing could be further from the truth. The Aztecs commonly play a very leisurely pace themselves, slower even than Temple's.
The Owls simply must make their shots count. Because, without injured power forward Michael Eric, they cannot compete with this team on the glass.
David Jones is columnist for The Harrisburg Patriot-News. Read his columns at pennlive.com. Follow him on Twitter @djoneshoop. E-mail him at djones8681@verizon.net.
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