ATLANTIC CITY -- In January, it was St. Joe's by a point on Temple's floor. Two weeks ago, it was Temple by a point at a pro-St. Joe's Palestra. Both games were pulsating, nerve-wracking affairs that went down to the very last shot.
Frankly, they deserved a chance to decide this thing once and for all. Tonight, they -- and we -- get it.
The setting is Boardwalk Hall, an arena whose roof is twice as high as the Palestra's but with a buzz just as palpable. To the winner goes the ultimate jackpot: a berth in the NCAA Tournament. It would be the Hawks' first since 2004, and the Owls' first since 2001.
For Temple, the stakes are even higher. Win and the big prize is theirs; lose and all those chips they've piled up in recent weeks vanish in an instant.
St. Joe's, though, might not need to play another hand. The signature wins are there, twice over Xavier and a blowout of Villanova. With chips like that in their pocket, the Hawks can probably afford to stay out of Temple's double-or-nothing game.
But this is a rivalry, and not just any rivalry. It's two schools and two coaches with decades worth of bonds between them, of intense battles under the Big 5's brightest lights.
You don't just walk away from that, do you?
So come on over to the table, Fran Dunphy and Phil Martelli. Time for another round. Forty more minutes of motion offense and swarming defense. Of ball screens, flares to the wing, hard drives to the basket and equally hard blocks in the lane.
It's time, once and for all, to see who has the strongest hand.
Ante up, gentlemen.
Here are the opening hands:
Temple
F Sr 13 Mark Tyndale
F Fr 24 Lavoy Allen
C Jr 41 Sergio Olmos
G So 10 Luis Guzman
G Jr 22 Dionte Christmas
St. Joseph's
F Sr 12 Pat Calathes
F Sr 52 Rob Ferguson
C Jr 34 Ahmad Nivins
G Jr 0 Tasheed Carr
G So 13 Darrin Govens
The game's on ESPN; watch it and leave your thoughts here. I'll be back at halftime.
