Temple to open tourney vs. Western Michigan

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The popular belief is that Temple is a good basketball team.

But how good? Atlantic Ten good? Or should-be-nationally ranked good?

"Our realistic goal for the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tourney is to see how good of a team that we can be," Owls center Micheal Eric said. "We are going to try to win every game in Puerto Rico and play like it's our last game."

In the process, Temple (1-0) hopes to make a better showing than its 1-2 record in this tourney in 2007.

Four years later, the Owls return as one of the marquee squads in the eight-team tourney at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico.

Temple faces Western Michigan in a first-round matchup at 10:30 a.m. Thursday. The winner advances to Friday's 1 p.m. semifinal against the winner of Thursday's matchup between Purdue and Iona. The loser will face the Purdue-Iona loser in Friday's 3:30 p.m. consolation game. The final day of the tournament is Sunday, with the championship game set for 8 p.m.

Maryland, Alabama, Wichita State, and Colorado make up the other side of the bracket.

Though a second-round matchup with Purdue (2-0) appears to be on the horizon, the Owls weren't talking about that possibility.

"We are focused on Western Michigan," Eric said of the Broncos (0-1). "No team is easy for us right now.

"We are a team that is trying to find itself right now. We are trying to figure out how we can run our offense and play solid defense without fouling too much."

Temple lost just one contributor to last year's team. However, power forward Lavoy Allen, who started the last four seasons, will be missed. The Owls also will play without Scootie Randall for a portion of the season. The senior swingman is recovering from offseason knee surgery.

Sophomore guard Aaron Brown is projected as Randall's replacement in the starting lineup against the Broncos.

Like Temple, Western Michigan is an experienced team. The Broncos return all five starters from last season's 21-13 squad.

Eric could have a tough matchup against Matt Stainbrook. The sophomore center scored a career-high 32 points on 14-of-16 shooting in Saturday's 82-76, season-opening loss at South Dakota State.

Juwan Howard Jr., son of the NBA veteran, has left the Broncos to play for Detroit-Mercy.  

Notes. Temple's last in-season tournament title came in 1998, when it won the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. . . . The Owls have a 3-0 series record against the Broncos.