Owls Fly North for Buffalo

It's been another long wait for the Temple Owls' basketball team, but the week has finally ended, and the team is back on the court. The Owls will be taking on the Buffalo Bulls, a familiar face from the MAC Conference. Tonight's post will give you a look at this Saturday afternoon showdown.

The Bulls (2-2) had started their 2008 campaign well with 2 straight wins, but skidded after losing two in a row. The four teams they've played this year are Youngstown State, Canisius, Evansville, and Niagara. So far, two players on this Buffalo squad have shown that they are the ones to watch for during the games.

Buffalo's two stars so far this year are Guard's Rodney Pierce and Greg Gamble. They account for exactly half of the teams' scoring, which is really what makes them so important. Here's a comparison of both teams' stats:

Points

Temple- 73 points per game
Buffalo- 62.3 points per game

Rebounds

Temple- 42.5 rebounds per game
Buffalo- 44.3 rebounds per game

Assists

Temple- 16.5 assists per game
Buffalo- 13 assists per game

The advantage in this game goes to Temple in scoring, but for the two other categories it seems even. Temple has not had rebounding as a problem except for Clemson, and tomorrow there will indeed be a plus. Center Sergio Olmos (right) might be expected to play in tomorrow's game- the 7'0" Senior was sidelined for the first four games due to an injury.

If Temple wants to win this game, they are going to have to do what they did with Dionte Christmas last week- get Olmos into the swing. With such a big body, the Owls' pace is going to have to change in order to adapt to this change. It should be interesting to see also how the rebounding factor comes into place. 

Hoot to Watch For: Buffalo does have a number of bigger guys who contribute to their success, so there are going to be a few Owls who will need to step it up. Look out for the Owls' big men to be key contributors to this game. Lavoy Allen and Sergio Olmos might be on the court together for the first time this season, so the relationship they share on the court should be interesting to see. If injury to both of them is an issue, than look for 6'11" freshman Michael Eric to come into play.

Tomorrow's game will not be televised. You can catch the game, however, on 1210 WPHT

Go Owls!