La Salle, Saint Joseph's ready to walk the plank in Atlantic City

When they held Atlantic 10 media day last fall in New York, Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli let everybody know about Temple coach Fran Dunphy's new TV show "Boardwalk Empire."

Well, the Empire, the three-time defending Atlantic 10 champions, is back to Atlantic City tonight, aiming for a four-peat. So, can the Owls do it again?

"Before you can win three of them, you've got to win one of them," Temple coach Fran Dunphy said. "That's the only thing we've got to think about and La Salle's playing good."

So it will be Temple-La Salle tonight at 6:30 at Boardwalk Hall in the quarterfinals, the second meeting in a week and the third this season, The Owls won 71-67 on Feb. 2 at La Salle and 90-82 on March 5 at Temple. Would not put much stock in those scores. St. Bonaventure crushed La Salle in the regular season, 82-61 after leading 70-41. La Salle beat the Bonnies in double overtime on Tuesday. The past is just that - the past.

"They played extremely well against us at Liacouras," Dunphy said. "We had a difficult time stopping them. They have great firepower."

Nobody has more respect for the Empire than La Salle coach John Giannini.

"The casual fan probably really doesn't understand their ability to score, their discipline," Giannini said. "Those things show on defense and shot selection. They do those two things as well as anyone. They don't beat themselves."

No, they do not. Conversely, La Salle has beaten itself a few times this season. Which does not mean the Explorers are not dangerous. They are.

"They played well against us the first time up there and they played very well at our place," Dunphy said. "We just hope we can contain them."

And La Salle has to hope Temple is a little off.

"When you are playing them right now, it's far more of a mental challenge than a physical challenge," Giannini said. "We can match up with them in terms of talent, but very few teams can match up with them in terms of playing the game right. They make you work for a good shot as much as anyone out there. Conversely, they're going to be patient enough and smart enough and disciplined enough to get a good shot on the other end. Their formula for success is very much old school."

It would certainly help Temple if Scootie Randall were available. It is not clear if he will play this weekend or how well he would be able to play. He has been out with a foot injury since the Feb. 17 game against Richmond.

"He ran around the last few days," Dunphy said. "He feels good."

The coach wondered how much Randall could help because he hasn't played any basketball in several weeks.

When Dunphy was assured his team was in the NCAA Tournament, he allowed: "Obviously, he would be more prepared with another week's rest. We could get him on the practice floor. He hasn't played any basketball in close to a month."

Contrary to rumors and even that recent funeral at Temple, the Hawk is not yet dead. Saint Joseph's will play Duquesne in an 2:30 p.m. quarterfinal today.

If you are interested, the Dukes beat the Hawks, 75-63, at Hagan Arena on Jan. 5. They led 56-30 with 14 1/2 minutes left.

Given that St. Joe's is 5-4 over its last nine games, including consecutive wins in games where losses would have ended its season, what happened in early January probably does not matter much.

"We're playing a team now that is 2-6 in their last eight," St. Joe's coach Phil Martelli said. "They're not the team that was 8-0 [in the A-10]."

Duquesne should win this game, but the young Hawks are playing much better. At the very least, the recent stretch of better play will set them up for next season.

"We're not turning the ball over so we play a better style," Martelli said. "They're a little more comfortable changing defenses."

And the coach is in postseason mode.

"All I'm concentrating on here is the Duquesne team that has played their last eight games," Martelli said. "I am going to mention to the team that this is the group that came in and had us down 25 on our home floor. Until I saw the score last night, I didn't realize it was a 12-point game. Their rotation is a little different. Their style isn't different. They're just not shooting the ball very well."

This has been a trying two seasons on Hawk Hill. They are used to winning 20 games, not losing 20. The coach put blinkers on and just looked at what was next.

"This has been my point all year," Martelli said. "I was never in a position where I was despondent. I have 2 days for the next game. It could be pie in the sky. It could be glass half-full. I had to come up with a way we could win this game. I had to be able to deliver it to my team. That's all I ever did.

"There were times when it was hard. I could tell by their body language that the assistant coaches were down. [Martelli's administrative assistant] Clare [Ariano] was down and out. My family was down and out."

So, he never looked at the overall schedule. He just got ready for the next practice, the next game, hoping he could find a way to make his team better.

Now, here they are - with one more game. At least. *