Less than twenty four hours from now, Temple will travel to the Palestra for another Big 5 basketball match up. This time, it will take on cross-town rival Penn. It is a homecoming of sorts for new Temple head coach Fran Dunphy, as it marks his first return to the Palestra since leaving his former home arena behind when he moved onto North Broad Street just months ago. Dunphy was the coach at Penn for 17 seasons, winning 10 Ivy League Titles and leaving the school as the winningest head coach in Penn history (310 wins, I believe).
I love the Palestra. Absolutely love it. The atmosphere is unrivaled. Even better is the ability to do some serious heckling to the opposing student section. Each year, the Penn kids have "roll out" signs that are usually pretty funny and/or over the top. I remember my freshman year, when I was there to watch Penn- La Salle and I saw the most outrageous signs I had ever seen at a sporting event. Period. La Salle was in shambles after a rape scandal ravaged their line up and shook up the entire program. Penn unveiled a "Hide the women and children" sign and "Inmate #060606 now entering the game." Both were classless, yes, but a tad funny nonetheless.
Penn kids, like every other school in the Big 5, are usually characterized in a certain manner (yeah, I'm gonna play the "rich" card, you knew I had to). In the minds of Temple students, kids from Penn are spoiled, rich brats who can get away with anything and everything thanks to mommy and daddy's wallets (kinda the way people think about 'Nova, too). Moreover, I think it is more of a rivalry because of the "city kids" mentality versus the "suburban kids," the way the rivalry first started. Either way, I dont like seeing a Big 5 loss in any capacity, probably perhaps because I have friends at each school (except, thank God, St. Joes). A Big 5 win is a good win, regardless of records. Actually, I dont really mind Penn as much as I despise the other three schools in the Big 5. Dont mistake that lightheartedness for pity, because I hope we stomp Penn into the ground. Not one single player on Penn's current roster has won a game against Temple, and I sure as heck would like that trend to continue. I cant stand Steve Danley, a F/C for the Quakers. He irks me the most, even though he only averages slightly over 10 points per game. He is one of the most uncoordinated and goofy basketball players I have ever seen, (and that is saying something, seeing as we are stuck with a 7 foot goof by the name of Serg) .
My prediction: Penn 70, Temple 63. Leading Scorers: Mark Zoller (UP)- 19 pts. Ibby Jabber (UP)- 17 pts. Dionte Christmas (TU)- 22 pts. Dustin Salisbury (TU)- 15 pts.
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