The 2009–10 Temple Owls men's basketball team represented

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

in the

2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 9, 2009, and ended with the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament's championship game on April 5, 2010, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The openin ...

. They were led by head coach

Fran Dunphy Francis Joseph Dunphy (born October 5, 1948) is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Pennsylvania for 17 seasons, Temple University for 13 seasons, and La Salle University for three season ...

and played their home games at the

Liacouras Center The Liacouras Center is a 10,206-seat multi-purpose venue which opened in 1997 and was originally named "''The Apollo of Temple''". The arena was renamed in 2000 for Temple University President, Peter J. Liacouras. It is part of a $107 mil ...

. The Owls are members of the

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. The A-10's member schools are located most ...

. They finished the season 29–6, 14–2 in A-10 play to claim a share of the regular season championship. They won the 2010 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament for the third consecutive year to receive the conferences automatic bid to the

2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2009– ...

. They received a 5 seed in the East Region where they were upset in the first round by 12 seed

Cornell Cornell University is a private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson White in 1865. Since ...

Preseason

The team is set to play their home games at

, which has a capacity of 10,206. They are in their 28th season as a member of the

. Coming back from their 2008–09 season, they compiled a record of 22–12 and won the

Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament The Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball tournament is the conference championship tournament in men's basketball for the Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference ...

for the second consecutive year. However, Temple lost star player

Dionte Christmas Dionte Lamont Christmas (born September 15, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player for Ciclista Olímpico of the Liga Nacional de Básquet. He played college basketball for Temple. High school career Christmas attended Samue ...

to graduation, whom Blue Ribbon Yearbook said that, if "anything good that happened to the Owls last year, Christmas had a hand in it." He 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). 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. Temple's schedule was announced on September 3, 2009, consisting of a school record-tying 31 games in the regular season. The out-of-conference portion, adopted on July 21, was regarded as one of the toughest in college hoops. The highlights of it include: Georgetown and

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

, which began the season ranked;

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

, a competitor in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

;

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

, who won the

2009 National Invitation Tournament The 2009 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. T ...

; and Villanova and

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, two top 10 teams. Due to these factors, Temple was picked to finish fifth in the conference by the Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll, tied with

Duquesne __NOTOC__ Duquesne or Duchesne ( , ; old spelling Du Quesne, American spelling DuQuesne) is a family name derived from a northern dialectal form of French (Norman and Picard) meaning ''du chêne'' in French ("of the oak"). The anglicization of t ...

. Lavoy Allen was the only team member selected on the Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team. The Blue Ribbon Yearbook gave the backcourt a grade of B, the

frontcourt Basketball is a sport with five players on the court for each team at a time. Each player is assigned to different positions defined by the strategic role they play. Guard, forward and center are the three main position categories. The standard ...

a B, the bench/depth a C+, and the intangibles a B+. They commented that "the Owls have had a way the last couple years of surprising people," and that while Temple "might still surprise some people, but don't expect it to be with an NCAA Tournament berth."

Recruiting

Incoming signees

2010–11 team recruits

Roster

Players

Coaches

Schedule

, - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 1 , November 14 ,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

W 76–56
, Ryan Brooks – 23 , Lavoy Allen – 15 , Juan Fernandez – 5 ,

Bob Carpenter Center Bob Carpenter Center is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena, in Newark, Delaware, named in honor of benefactor and trustee, R. R. M. Carpenter Jr. (1915–1990). Students at the University of Delaware have nicknamed it "The Bob." As UD athletic di ...

, Newark, DE (3,080) , 1–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#FFE6E6" , 2 , November 17 , Georgetown (#19)
L 46–45
, Allen – 12 , Allen – 14 , Luiz Guzman – 6 , Verizon Center, Washington, DC (8,712) , 1–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 3 , November 21 ,

W 73–69
, Fernandez – 20 , Allen – 7 , Allen – 5 ,

, Philadelphia, PA (6,759) , 2–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 4 , November 24 ,

Ball State Ball State University (Ball State or BSU) is a public university, public research university in Muncie, Indiana, United States. The university has three off-campus centers in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Fort Wayne, and Fishers, Indiana. T ...

W 66–46
, Brooks – 17 , Allen – 9 , Allen/Brooks – 7 , Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (3,597) , 3–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 5 , November 27 ,

W 61–50
, Allen – 18 , Allen – 10 , Fernandez – 6 ,

Palestra The Palestra, often called the Cathedral of College Basketball, is a historic arena and the home gym of the Penn Quakers men's and women's basketball teams, volleyball teams, wrestling team, and Philadelphia Big 5 basketball. Located at 235 So ...

, Philadelphia, PA (3,750) , 4–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#FFE6E6" , 6 , November 28 , St. John's
L 55–48
, Ramone Moore – 10 , Rahlir Jefferson – 12 , Fernandez – 4 ,

, Philadelphia, PA (3,469) , 4–2 , - , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 7 , December 1 ,

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for a region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Generally, it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Peninsula's Lake ...

W 76–70
, Brooks – 17 , Brooks – 10 , Guzman – 6 , University Arena in Read Fieldhouse, Kalamazoo, MI (3,086) , 5–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 8 , December 5 ,

W 45–42
, Brooks – 19 , Allen – 12 , Fernandez – 4 , Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (7,012) , 6–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 9 , December 8 , Miami (OH)
W 64–42
, Allen – 15 , Allen – 7 , Allen/Fernandez – 4 , John D. Millett Hall, Miami, OH (1,457) , 7–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 10 , December 13 , Villanova (#3)
W 75–65
, Fernandez – 33 , Allen – 17 , Guzman – 7 , Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (8,449) , 8–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 11 , December 19 ,

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

W 71–65
, Brooks – 24 , Allen – 12 , Brooks – 3 ,

Prudential Center Prudential Center is a multipurpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey, United States. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), the New York Sirens of the Pro ...

, Newark, NJ (7,100) , 9–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 12 , December 28 ,

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

W 63–39
, Brooks – 19 , Allen – 13 , Brooks – 6 , Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (3,900) , 10–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 13 , December 30 ,

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois, with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by ...

W 70–60
, Fernandez – 26 , Allen – 11 , Brooks – 4 , Convocation Center, DeKalb, IL (1,234) , 11–2 , - , - align="center" bgcolor="#FFE6E6" , 14 , January 2 ,

(#1)
L 84–52
, Brooks/Fernandez – 11 , Guzman – 6 , Allen/Brooks/Fernandez/Guzman – 2 , Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (10,206) , 11–3 , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 15 , January 6 , St. Joseph's
W 73–46
, Allen – 20 , Allen – 11 , Craig Williams/Guzman/Moore – 3 , Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (6,103) , 12–3
(1–0) , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 16 , January 10 ,

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

(#32)
W 68–64 (OT)
, Fernandez – 18 , Allen – 12 , Fernandez – 4 , Thomas M. Ryan Center, Kingston, RI (6,122) , 13–3
(2–0) , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 17 , January 13 ,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

W 60–45
, Brooks – 15 , Allen/Guzman – 6 , Brooks/Fernandez – 3 , Palestra, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (6,353) , 14–3 , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 18 , January 16 ,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

W 76–64
, Brooks – 29 , Allen – 14 , Guzman – 7 , Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (4,263) , 15–3
(3–0) , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 19 , January 20 , Xavier
W 77–72
, Brooks – 22 , Allen/Brooks – 7 , Fernandez – 7 , Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (6,813) , 16–3
(4–0) , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 20 , January 23 , Fordham
W 62–45
, Fernandez – 13 ,

Micheal Eric Micheal Oluwaseun Eric (born June 24, 1988) is a Nigerian professional basketball player for the Taipei Taishin Mars of the Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL). He played college basketball for Temple. Early life Born and raised in Lagos ...

– 5 , Brooks – 6 , Rose Hill Gym, New York, NY (2,690) , 17–3
(5–0) , - align="center" bgcolor="#FFE6E6" , 21 , January 27 , Charlotte
L 74–64
, Brooks – 20 , Allen – 14 , Fernandez – 6 , Dale F. Halton Arena, Charlotte, NC (7,623) , 17–4
(5–1) , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 22 , January 30 , La Salle
W 64–52
, Moore – 14 , Allen – 10 , Allen/Guzman – 5 , Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (8,501) , 18–4
(6–1) , - , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 23 , February 3 ,

W 76–60
, Moore – 15 , Allen – 15 , Guzman – 4 , Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (4,391) , 19–4
(7–1) , - align="center" bgcolor="#FFE6E6" , 24 , February 6 ,

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

L 71–54
, Allen/Moore – 17 , Allen – 19 , Guzman – 3 ,

Robins Center The Robins Center is a 7,201-seat multi-purpose arena in Richmond, Virginia. Opened in 1972, the arena is home to the University of Richmond Spiders basketball. It hosted the ECAC South (now known as the Colonial Athletic Association) men's baske ...

, Richmond, VA (6,806) , 19–5
(7–2) , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 25 , February 13 ,

W 78–56
, Eric – 19 , Allen/Guzman – 7 , Fernandez – 6 , Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (7,080) , 20–5
(8–2) , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 26 , February 17 ,

St. Bonaventure Bonaventure ( ; ; ; born Giovanni di Fidanza; 1221 – 15 July 1274) was an Italian Catholic Franciscan bishop, cardinal, scholastic theologian and philosopher. The seventh Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, he also serv ...

W 73–55
, Moore – 18 , Allen – 6 , Fernandez – 5 , Reilly Center, St. Bonaventure, NY (4,522) , 21–5
(9–2) , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 27 , February 20 , St. Joseph's
W 75–67 (OT)
, Moore – 24 , Allen – 10 , Guzman – 4 ,

Hagan Arena The Michael J. Hagan Arena (previously known as the ''Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse'') of Saint Joseph's University is SJU's home court for men's and women's basketball. The new arena seats 3,800, which is 600 more than the Alumni Memorial Fieldh ...

, Philadelphia, PA (8,151) , 22–5
(10–2) , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 28 , February 24 ,

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

W 49–41
, Moore – 13 , Allen – 17 , Guzman – 7 , Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (5,833) , 23–5
(11–2) , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 29 , February 28 , La Salle
W 68–53
, Fernandez – 23 , Allen – 21 , Guzman – 7 , Tom Gola Arena, Philadelphia, PA (4,000) , 24–5
(12–2) , - , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 30 , March 3 ,

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

W 57–51
, Allen – 18 , Allen – 14 , Guzman – 4 ,

Chaifetz Arena Chaifetz Arena ( ), is a 10,600 seat multi-purpose arena in St. Louis, Missouri, located on the Saint Louis University campus. The arena began construction on August 28, 2006, and opened on April 10, 2008. In February 2007, Chicago-based busine ...

, St. Louis, MO (7,984) , 25–5
(13–2) , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 31 , March 6 ,

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

W 70–57
, Eric – 18 , Eric – 6 , Fernandez – 5 , Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (6,356) , 26–5
(14–2) , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 32 , March 12 ,

W 69–51
, Fernandez – 17 , Allen – 15 , Fernandez – 7 ,

Boardwalk Hall Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, formerly known as the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Built during 1926–1929, it was Atlantic City's primary convention center until the opening of ...

, Atlantic City, NJ
A-10 tournament quarterfinals , 27–5 , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 33 , March 13 ,

W 57–44
, Brooks – 16 , Allen – 10 , Fernandez – 6 , Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ
A-10 Tournament semifinals , 28–5 , - align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" , 34 , March 14 ,

W 56–52
, Fernandez – 18 , Allen – 11 , Allen – 3 , Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ
A-10 Tournament finals (7,882) , 29–5 , - align="center" bgcolor="#FFE6E6" , 35 , March 19 ,

(12 Seed)
L 65–78
, Fernandez/Brooks – 14 , Allen – 5 , Allen – 4 ,

Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena (originally Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena) is a multi-purpose arena located in Jacksonville, Florida. It currently serves as the home arena of the Jacksonville Icemen of the ECHL, and the Jacksonville Shar ...

, Jacksonville, FL
NCAA tournament First round (10,657) , 29–6 , -

Season

Preconference season

The Owls kicked off their season on November 14, 2009 with a 76–56 win against the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

, sending the Fighting Blue Hens to their fourth straight loss as a home opener. On November 17, the Owls failed to capitalize on preseason No. 19

Georgetown Hoyas The Georgetown Hoyas are the collegiate athletics teams that officially represent Georgetown University, located at Washington, D.C. The Georgetown's athletics department fields 24 men's and women's varsity level teams and competes at the Natio ...

' sloppy play, as the Hoyas were victorious 45–46. The game featured more fouls (18) and turnovers (16) than completed baskets (15) for Georgetown, playing their home opener at the Verizon Center. Georgetown led 19–13 at halftime, but Temple managed to mount a comeback, as they led with 6 seconds left in regulation until Hoya

Greg Monroe Gregory Keith Monroe Jr. (born June 4, 1990) is an American former professional basketball player who is a player development coach for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted by the Detroit Pistons i ...

scored the winning 3-pointer. After the game, Temple's 68-game winning streak when opponents scored less than 50 points was crushed. On November 21, Temple beat the

Siena Saints The Siena Saints (formerly the Siena Indians) are composed of 21 teams representing Siena College in collegiate sports. The Saints compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Ath ...

, after overcoming a six-point deficit at the half to end the game at 73–69. As a result, the Owls began receiving votes in the 2008-09 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings for the week of November 23. After an easy win against

on November 24, the Owls next faced

in the semifinals of the Philly Hoop Group Classic. Temple overcame

Malcolm Delaney Malcolm Hakeem Delaney (born March 11, 1989) is an American former professional basketball player. He is from Baltimore, Maryland, and attended Towson Catholic High School. Delaney played college basketball for the Virginia Tech Hokies men's bas ...

's 32 points to defeat the Hokies 60–51 on November 27. Their 4–1 start was the Owls' best since 2000. The team suffered their second loss of the season by the undefeated Red Storm of St. John's on November 28, in the championship game of the Philly Hoop Group Classic. Temple led 22–21 at the half, but the Red Storm went on a 14–2 run in the beginning of the second half from which the Owls could not recover, and St. John's won 55–48. This caused Temple to lose all support in the national rankings. The Owls rebounded with three consecutive wins: against

, and Miami (Ohio). The Penn State game was notable in that it was the second lowest scoring game in the 13-year history of the

. Ryan Brooks's 19 points, the only Owl scoring in double figures, helped lead Temple over the Nittany Lions 45–42 in the largely defensive matchup. Temple entered the top 25 in national rankings for the first time since 2001.

Atlantic 10 regular season

Postseason

Rankings

Awards & honors

;Lavoy Allen *Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team *November 30, 2009

Philadelphia Big Five The Philadelphia Big 5, known simply as the "Big 5", is an association of six college athletic programs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is not a athletic conference, conference, but rather a group of NCAA Division I college basketball, baske ...

Player of the Week *November 30, 2009 Temple University Athlete of the Week *December 14, 2009 Philadelphia Big Five Honor Roll *January 11, 2010 Philadelphia Big Five Player of the Week *January 11, 2010 Temple University Athlete of the Week ;Ryan Brooks *November 16, 2009 Philadelphia Big Five Honor Roll *December 7, 2009 Philadelphia Big Five Honor Roll *December 21, 2009 Philadelphia Big Five Player of the Week *December 21, 2009 Temple University Athlete of the Week *January 4, 2010 Philadelphia Big Five Honor Roll ;Juan Fernandez *December 14, 2009 Philadelphia Big Five Player of the Week *December 14, 2009 Temple University Athlete of the Week *December 20, 2009 A-10 Player of the Week *January 6, 2010 Temple University Athlete of the Month

Statistical leadership

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2009-10 Temple Owls Men's Basketball Team

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

Temple Owls men's basketball seasons