*** Welcome to piglix ***

2008–09 Temple Owls men's basketball team

2008–09 Temple Owls men's basketball
TUOwls logo.png
A-10 Tournament Champions
NCAA Tournament, First Round
Conference Atlantic 10 Conference
2008–09 record 22–12 (11–5 A-10)
Head coach Fran Dunphy
Assistant coach Dave Duke
Assistant coach Matt Langel
Assistant coach Shawn Trice
Home arena Liacouras Center
Seasons
← 2007–08
2009–10 →
2008–09 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
#20 Xavier 12 4   .750     27 8   .771
Dayton 11 5   .688     27 8   .771
Rhode Island 11 5   .688     23 11   .676
Temple 11 5   .688     22 12   .647
Duquesne 9 7   .563     21 13   .618
La Salle 9 7   .563     18 13   .581
Richmond 9 7   .563     20 16   .556
Saint Joseph's 9 7   .563     17 15   .531
Saint Louis 8 8   .500     18 14   .563
UMass 7 9   .438     12 18   .400
St. Bonaventure 6 10   .375     15 15   .500
Charlotte 5 11   .313     11 20   .355
George Washington 4 12   .250     10 18   .357
Fordham 1 15   .063     3 25   .107
† Atlantic 10 Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2008–09 Temple Owls men's basketball team represented Temple University in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by head coach Fran Dunphy and played their home games at the Liacouras Center. The Owls are members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 22–12 and 11–5 in A-10 play. They won the 2009 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament for the second consecutive year to receive the conference's automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.

Dionte Christmas 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.

On October 28, 2008, the Owls were picked by other Atlantic 10 coaches to finish second, behind Xavier, and received 12 first place votes. Dionte Christmas was chosen to the Preseason First Team after leading the league in scoring the past two seasons. Lavoy Allen was named to the Preseason Defensive Team.

Dionte Christmas scored 35 points to lead Temple past #8 Tennessee on December 13 88–72. This was Temple's first win over a top ten team since the 2006 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament, when the Owls upset #6 George Washington; John Chaney was coaching Temple at the time. The Owls started the game with an 8–0 lead and never faltered, with Tennessee only tying the score at 15 and never leading. Christmas started the second half with a three-pointer and scored three consecutive threes on a 17–6 run. For the game, he was 7-for-14 from the perimeter and 12-for-22 from the field. Sergio Olmos's 19 points were a career high, and Ryan Brooks registered a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds.


...
Wikipedia

...