AROUND THE CITY:
PLAYING LIGHTS OUT
Temple was tied with Xavier, 5-5, at the Liacouras Center.
Seven minutes later, it was 21-5 and over. Want to understand what Temple hoops is about these days? Replay those 7 minutes a few times. The game can't be played much better. Temple won, 85-72. Once the first-half blitz subsided with Temple leading, 47-27, Xavier (16-9, 7-4 Atlantic 10) actually played pretty well. But the point had been made by the Owls (19-5, 8-2). Temple has now won eight straight.
RAMONE ON FIRE
Ramone Moore keeps topping himself. He was brilliant against "X" with 30 points on just 16 shots. He was 9-for-16, 5-for-8 from the arc and 7-for-9 from the foul line. He is playing with great confidence. When he gets set on his shot, he really looks like he can't miss. There can't be many in America playing any better. In his last five games, he has scored 21, 25, 22, 25 and 30.
THE SIDEKICKS
Khalif Wyatt (18 points) even made one shot after hopping down the court on a sore foot. He is a first-team All-Big 5 lock. Big man Micheal Eric (11 points, 16 rebounds) looks like he is all the way back from his injury.
THE CROWD
An ESPN2 audience saw a really good team playing in front of a really hyped crowd (9,370). The game was on opposite a more competitive game between No. 1 Kentucky and Vanderbilt on ESPN, but anybody who took the time must have been really impressed by the Owls, who should be zooming up the NCAA selection committee's seeding chart.
THE SEEDINGS
First-place Temple has a half-game lead on Saint Louis (with a game in hand and the tiebreaker due to a head-to-head win) and at least 1 1/2 games on the rest of the league as we head down the stretch.
MAKE SHOTS, WIN GAMES
Drexel has now won 13 straight and 19 of 20 after its 78-67 win over Hofstra at the DAC. The Dragons (21-5, 13-2 Colonial) got great shooting performances from Chris Fouch (25 points, 8-for-10 overall and 6-for-7 from the arc) and Frantz Massenat (20 points, 8-for-9). The team shot 28-for-47 (59.6 percent), 10-for-17 (58.8 percent) from the arc and 12-for-13 (92.3 percent) from the foul line.
Hofstra (8-19, 2-13) shot just 32.8 percent. So why was this at all close? Drexel had 18 turnovers.
WHAT'S NEXT
