XU -v- Temple

Xavier returns to the city of brotherly love to take on an underachieving Temple squad. The Owls at 6-8 overall are still adjusting to Fran Dunphy and have a few nice pieces in place. Dionte Christmas and Mark Tyndale are two very talented wings who can fill it up. Also keep an eye on Lavoy Allen (freshman post) for the Owls. At #20 in the nation XU must realize they are a 'highlight' on the Owls schedule and will have the proverbial 'X' on their back. We have not had much success at the Liacouras Center over the last couple of seasons and it is hard to imagine the crowd will provide much energy tonight. I don't expect much of a crowd anyway (there seem to be very few die hard Temple fans outside of Bill Cosby) and the Muskies must guard against peeking ahead to next Thursday's matchup with UD. I think Lavender steps up big in this one (Luis Guzman is a going to be a good point guard in the A10 but he is still young) and Burrell is due to have a big offensive game soon. My prediction: X - 71 Owls- 66