Fran Dunphy wants to make sure the Temple Owls are locked in.
Nowhere is that more evident than in Temple's practice facility, where the coach has made sure that North Carolina State's presence is felt.
The ninth-seeded Owls (23-9) could grow weary of the eighth-seeded Wolfpack (24-10) before the teams meet Friday afternoon in an NCAA East Regional matchup in Dayton, Ohio.
A North Carolina State logo appears on a television monitor inside the front door of the facility. The monitor lists the statistics for N.C. State's victories and losses.
Another monitor shows footage from the Wolfpack's lopsided regular-season victory over Georgia Tech. And the starting lineup from the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament quarterfinal rout of Virginia is visible on another.
And Wolfpack logos, statistics, and videos could show up elsewhere. Temple wants its players to realize the importance of this game.
"Nothing should be on our minds beside N.C. State right now," guard T.J. DiLeo said. "I think that's what they are trying to do with that. I think that's good. I think you can't lose focus. And I think that's going to help us."
On paper, the Owls will have their hands full - especially if post player Anthony Lee is unable to play because of concussion symptoms. The 6-foot-9 redshirt sophomore is listed as day-to-day.
"We will just have to do a lot of managing our lineup" if Lee can't play, Dunphy said. "Probably play small on occasion, which probably won't be a whole lot of fun. But that's what we will do."
The Wolfpack rank fifth in the nation in field-goal percentage (49.4) and 12th in scoring offense (77.5 points per game).
North Carolina State, which has scored 80 or more points on 13 occasions, boasts a talented frontcourt.
C.J. Leslie, a 6-9 power forward, averages a team-leading 14.9 points and 7.4 rebounds. Richard Howell, a 6-8 forward/center, produces 12.7 points and a team-best 10.7 rebounds.
The Wolfpack also have double-figure scorers in forwards Scott Wood (12.7 ppg.) and T.J. Warren (12.4), and guard Lorenzo Brown (12.1).
"If we play hard and smart, we will be all right," Temple forward Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson said. "We can pretty much play with any team when we come to play.
"And I'm pretty sure we'll come to play, because none of us want our season to end."
Contact Keith Pompey at kpompey@phillynews.com. Follow on Twitter @pompeysgridlock.
