Atlantic 10 Men's basketball tourny begins today...Temple ready to defend title

Today marks the start of the Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament in Atlantic City, NJ. The Owls are seeded fourth in the tournament, giving them a bye into the quarterfinal round, which means they'll play tomorrow. They will play the winner of today's #5 St Joseph's vs. #12 UNC
Charlotte game at 2:30. Buy tickets here, but make sure you use the Pepsi code for ticket discounts. The pass code is "pepsi".



Here are some quick notes on what this tournament means for the Temple Owls

1. If they win the entire tournament (3 games) they will automatically qualify for the NCAA tournament
2. The Owls won the Atlantic 10 tournament last year over St. Joseph's, giving them their first NCAA bid since 2001.
3. The Owls still have a chance at getting into the NCAA tournament as an "at-large" team, but it will definitely require beating nationally ranked #18 Xavier in the semifinals.
4. If St. Joseph's wins today, it will be the third meeting of the season in the rivalry between St. Joseph's and Temple. Temple won both games this season, as well as the last 2 of last season, giving the Owls a 4 game winning streak over the Phawks.
5. Star guard Dionte Christmas is currently tied with senior center Ahmad Nivins of St. Joe's for the league scoring title (19.5 points per game). If Christmas outscores Nivins in this tournament, it will give Christmas his third straight A-10 scoring title and he would be the first player to ever do so.

Go Owls!!

Vid of last year's championship win.