Temple Owls men's basketball

The Temple Owls men's basketball team represents Temple University in the sport of basketball. The Owls compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I as a member of the American Conference (The American). They play their home games in the Liacouras Center on the university's main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and are currently led by head coach Adam Fisher. Temple is the sixth-most winningest NCAA Division I men's college basketball program of all time, with 2,010 wins.

Temple won the inaugural National Invitation Tournament in 1938, and with it the national championship, in the season prior to the first NCAA tournament. They won the NIT again in 1969. Although Temple has competed in the NCAA tournament over thirty times, they are one of nine programs with that many appearances to have not won the tournament and one of four to have never reached the NCAA championship game. They recorded third-place NCAA finishes in 1956 and 1958.

On March 7, 2012, the Temple Owls announced that they would be rejoining the Big East Conference for all sports in 2013 after 31 years in the Atlantic 10 Conference, with the Owls football team membership beginning in the 2012 season. However, before Temple became an all-sports member of the Big East, the conference split along football lines. The league's non-FBS football schools formed a new Big East in 2013, while Temple and the remaining football members remained in the old conference, but renamed it the American Athletic Conference.

History

The Temple Owls became the first National Invitation Tournament (NIT) champions in 1938, one year before the inception of the NCAA tournament. The NIT was broadly recognized as a national championship-caliber tournament for a number of years, beginning with the 1938 national championship won by Temple. Additionally, the Owls were retroactively recognized by the Helms Athletic Foundation as the national champion for the 1937–38 season and were listed as the top team of that season by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll. Neither the Helms nor Premo-Porretta designations are recognized by the NCAA as official national championships, despite the NCAA referencing Helms's historical findings. Temple again won the NIT championship in 1969.

During the 1950s, the Temple basketball team made two NCAA Final Four appearances in (1956, 1958) under head coach Harry Litwack. Litwack was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame after concluding a 21-year coaching career that included 373 wins.

Head Coach John Chaney, also a Hall of Famer, won a total of 741 career games (312 losses) and took Temple to the NCAA tournament 17 times in 24 seasons with the Owls. His teams won the Atlantic 10 regular season championship eight times, while winning the A-10 Tournament six times. His 1987–88 Owls team entered the NCAA tournament ranked No. 1 in the country, but lost in the Elite Eight to Duke. Chaney reached the Elite Eight on five occasions and was the consensus National Coach of the Year in 1988. On March 13, 2006, Chaney retired from coaching.

On April 10, 2006, Penn head coach and La Salle alumnus Fran Dunphy was named the new head coach. Dunphy had coached the Quakers for 17 straight seasons prior to the move. After struggling his first year, the Owls won the A-10 tournament for three consecutive years in 2008, 2009, and 2010. The Owls received bids to the NCAA Tournament for six straight years under Dunphy (2008–2013). However, the Owls only won a game in the Tournament twice during that time period. Since Temple joined the American Conference in 2013, the Owls have struggled, making the NCAA Tournament only in 2016 and 2019.

After the 2018 season, it was announced that former Owls standout and then-assistant coach Aaron McKie would take over for Dunphy in 2019.

Players Mark Macon, Juan Ignacio Sanchez, Eddie Jones, Lavoy Allen, Aaron McKie, Tim Perry and Mardy Collins are just a few who have gone on to play in the NBA.

Rivalries As a member of the Big 5, the five large colleges in Philadelphia, the Owls have long-standing rivalries with Villanova, Penn, Saint Joseph's, and La Salle. The Owls are tied with Villanova for the most Big 5 titles to date, with 27. However, while tied in overall titles, Villanova has more outright titles not shared by any other tying team. The Owls have not won an outright Big 5 title since the 2000–01 season. The Owls won their most recent Big 5 title in 2022–23, going 3–1 in Big 5 play and splitting the title with Villanova. During Big 5 games, the Temple student section unfurls long banners about the opposing team, which has been a Big 5 trademark for Temple.

Other rivals include UMass, UConn, and Cincinnati. Temple was in the American Athletic Conference with UConn and Cincinnati until their departures in 2020 and 2023, respectively. When Temple was in the A-10, head coach John Chaney had a personal rivalry with UMass head coach John Calipari.

Awards and honors

Retired numbers

Temple Owls retired numbers No.PlayerPos.TenureNo. ret.Ref. 5 Guy Rodgers PG 1955–1958 Naismith Hall of Fame Welcomes Guy Rodgers at owlsports.com, 8 Aug 2014 6 Hal Lear PG 1953–1956 2012 Temple To Retire Men's Basketball Great Hal Lear's Jersey at owlsports.com, 12 Apr 2012 12 Mark Macon SG, PG 1987–1991 Mark of greatness! Looking back at Temple's 1991 at Inquirer.com, 14 Feb 2016 20 Bill Mlkvy SF 1949–1952 This Future Dentist Once Dropped 54 Straight. Then He Was Lost to Time by JOHN WALTERSMAR at SI.com – Mar 3, 2020

National awards

All Americans Mike Bloom – 1938 Bill Mlkvy – 1951 Guy Rodgers – 1957, 1958 Bill Kennedy – 1960 Terrence Stansbury – 1984 Nate Blackwell – 1987 Mark Macon – 1988 Pepe Sanchez – 2000

National Coach of the Year John Chaney – 1987, 1988

Conference awards

Atlantic 10 Conference (1982–2013) Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Terrence Stansbury – 1983–84 Granger Hall – 1984–85 Nate Blackwell – 1986–87 Tim Perry – 1987–88 Mark Macon – 1988–89 Aaron McKie – 1992–93 Eddie Jones – 1993–94 Marc Jackson – 1996–97 Pepe Sanchez – 1999–00 Khalif Wyatt – 2012–13

Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year Quincy Wadley – 1998–99 Lynn Greer – 1999–00 Brian Polk – 2001–02 Ramone Moore – 2009–10 Khalif Wyatt – 2010–11

Atlantic 10 Most Improved Player Dionte Christmas – 2006–07 Scootie Randall – 2010–11

Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year John Chaney – 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1999–00 Fran Dunphy – 2009–10, 2011–12

American Conference (2013–present)

American Athletic Conference Most Improved Player Nate Pierre-Louis – 2019

American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year Fran Dunphy – 2015, 2016

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Harry Litwack – 1976 John Chaney – 2001 Guy Rodgers – 2014

Owls in pro basketball

NBA drafted players YearRoundOverallPlayerTeam2011250Lavoy AllenPhiladelphia 76ers2006129Mardy CollinsNew York Knicks2000248Mark KarcherPhiladelphia 76ers1997237Marc JacksonGolden State Warriors1994110Eddie JonesLos Angeles Lakers117Aaron McKiePortland Trail Blazers199118Mark MaconDenver Nuggets118Duane CauswellSacramento Kings198817Tim PerryPhoenix Suns1987227Nate BlackwellSan Antonio Spurs1985478Granger HallPhoenix Suns6124Charles RaynePhoenix Suns1984115Terence StansburyDallas Mavericks8167Jim McLoughlinLos Angeles Clippers19819202Ron WisterPhiladelphia 76ers1979481Ricky ReedLos Angeles Lakers19789181Tim ClaxtonPhiladelphia 76ers1974587Joe NewmanDetroit Pistons1972230Ollie JohnsonPortland Trail Blazers1969223John BaumChicago Bulls340Eddie MastNew York Knicks570Joe CromerPhiladelphia 76ers19689118Clarence BrookinsPhiladelphia 76ers15187John BaumLos Angeles Lakers1966440Jim WilliamsChicago Bulls1960215Bill KennedyPhiladelphia Warriors1958Guy RodgersPhiladelphia Warriors752Jay NormanPhiladelphia Warriors968Tink Van PattonPhiladelphia Warriors195617Hal LearPhiladelphia Warriors19557Al DidriksenPhiladelphia Warriors8Harry SilcoxPhiladelphia Warriors1952Bill MlkvyPhiladelphia Warriors19505Ike BorsavagePhiladelphia Warriors

Postseason

NCAA tournament results The Owls have appeared in the NCAA tournament 33 times. Their combined record is 33–33.

1944 Elite EightRegional 3rd Place Game Ohio StateCatholic L 47–57W 55–35 1956 First RoundSweet SixteenElite EightFinal FourNational 3rd Place Game Holy CrossConnecticutCanisiusIowaSMU W 74–72W 65–59W 60–58L 76–83W 90–81 1958 Sweet SixteenElite EightFinal FourNational 3rd Place Game MarylandDartmouthKentuckyKansas State W 71–67W 69–50L 60–61W 67–57 1964 First Round Connecticut L 48–53 1967 First Round St. John's L 53–57 1970 First Round South Carolina L 51–53 1972 First Round West Virginia L 71–77 1979 No. 7 First Round No. 10 St. John's L 70–75 1984 No. 8 First RoundSecond Round No. 9 St. John'sNo. 1 North Carolina W 65–63L 66–77 1985 No. 8 First RoundSecond Round No. 9 Virginia TechNo. 1 Georgetown W 60–57L 46–63 1986 No. 9 First RoundSecond Round No. 8 JacksonvilleNo. 1 Kansas W 61–50 OTL 43–65 1987 No. 2 First RoundSecond Round No. 15 SouthernNo. 10 LSU W 75–56L 62–72 1988 No. 1 First RoundSecond RoundSweet SixteenElite Eight No. 16 LehighNo. 8 GeorgetownNo. 13 RichmondNo. 2 Duke W 87–73W 74–53W 69–47L 53–63 1990 No. 11 First Round No. 6 St. John's L 65–81 1991 No. 10 First RoundSecond RoundSweet SixteenElite Eight No. 7 PurdueNo. 15 RichmondNo. 3 Oklahoma StateNo. 1 North Carolina W 80–63W 77–64W 72–63 OTL 72–75 1992 No. 11 First Round No. 6 Michigan L 66–73 1993 No. 7 First RoundSecond RoundSweet SixteenElite Eight No. 10 MissouriNo. 15 Santa ClaraNo. 3 VanderbiltNo. 1 Michigan W 75–61W 68–57W 67–59L 72–77 1994 No. 4 First RoundSecond Round No. 13 DrexelNo. 5 Indiana W 61–39L 58–67 1995 No. 7 First Round No. 10 Cincinnati L 71–77 1996 No. 7 First RoundSecond Round No. 10 OklahomaNo. 2 Cincinnati W 61–43L 65–78 1997 No. 9 First RoundSecond Round No. 8 Ole MissNo. 1 Minnesota W 62–40L 57–76 1998 No. 7 First Round No. 10 West Virginia L 52–82 1999 No. 6 First RoundSecond RoundSweet SixteenElite Eight No. 11 Kent StateNo. 3 CincinnatiNo. 10 PurdueNo. 1 Duke W 61–54W 64–54W 77–55L 64–85 2000 No. 2 First RoundSecond Round No. 15 LafayetteNo. 10 Seton Hall W 73–47L 65–67 OT 2001 No. 11 First RoundSecond RoundSweet SixteenElite Eight No. 6 TexasNo. 3 FloridaNo. 7 Penn StateNo. 1 Michigan State W 79–65W 75–54W 84–72L 62–69 2008 No. 12 First Round No. 5 Michigan State L 61–72 2009 No. 11 First Round No. 6 Arizona State L 57–66 2010 No. 5 First Round No. 12 Cornell L 65–78 2011 No. 7 First RoundSecond Round No. 10 Penn StateNo. 2 San Diego State W 66–64L 64–71 2OT 2012 No. 5 First Round No. 12 South Florida L 44–58 2013 No. 9 First RoundSecond Round No. 8 NC StateNo. 1 Indiana W 76–72L 52–58 2016 No. 10 First Round No. 7 Iowa L 70–72 OT 2019 No. 11 First Four No. 11 Belmont L 70–81

NIT results The Owls have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 19 times. Their combined record is 23–17. They are two-time NIT champions (1938, 1969).