Temple tempo has quickened its pace

EAST LANSING - When people think of Temple, they think of John Chaney, the legendary, raspy-voiced coach who ran 6 a.m. practices, employed a unique matchup zone and was considered a college basketball pillar for his 24 seasons there.

He defined the Owls. He even kind of looked like an owl.

But now Temple has a new look. Fran Dunphy - a native Philadelphian and revered, accomplished coach in his own right - has the Owls in the NCAA Tournament in his second season, and for the first time since 2001.

"In our world we're advised never to follow a legend," Dunphy said in a phone interview Monday night. "But (Chaney) gave me his stamp of approval and I took the challenge. You just do things the way you know how to do them."

"John, I think he had such control of that team, they were a grind-it-out team," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "They're not quite that way (now)."

When the South Regional No. 5-seed Spartans (25-8) take on the 12-seed Owls (21-12) at 12:30 p.m. Thursday in Denver, they'll see a Temple team that likes to run, shoots 3-pointers in bunches and plays mostly man-to-man defense.

Chaney always seemed to have big, bruising players. Dunphy has two players above 6-foot-9 in his eight-man playing group; the rest are perimeter guys, and the Owls often go small with four guards and one true post player.

After Chaney retired in 2006, Temple turned to one of his close friends, Dunphy, who won 310 games and 10 Ivy League titles in 17 seasons at another Philly hoops institution, Penn.

The Owls enter Thursday's game on a seven-game winning streak, earning an NCAA bid by beating Philly rival St. Joseph's on Saturday for the Atlantic 10 Tournament title.

The last time Temple played in the NCAA Tournament, it lost 69-62 to MSU in the South Regional final in Atlanta in 2001. That was the fifth and final time Chaney reached the Elite Eight - and fell a game short of the Final Four.

With his program losing some steam in his final few years, Chaney decided to retire after the 2005-06 season.

"John Chaney's entity at Temple ended and then Fran Dunphy came in and he changed the mind-set," St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli said Saturday after his team fell to Temple. "He changed the mind-set how to play (offense) and (defense). It was a new program. John Chaney's program is in the Hall of Fame.

"This is a new program and what Fran Dunphy has done over the two years is extraordinary. I am not knocking anyone. He got guys who were average and made them believe through hard work that they are pretty good college players."

Keep an eye on top two Owls

Few would argue against the idea that Dunphy's two stars are pretty good college players. The Spartans are believers after watching film of 6-foot-5 scorer Dionte Christmas and 6-5 "point forward" Mark Tyndale.

Christmas is a 20.2-a-game scorer who "can shoot it from anywhere," said ESPN analyst Hubert Davis. Tyndale averages 15.9 points and a team-leading 7.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists a game.

Izzo calls Tyndale a "point forward" and Dunphy agrees. He drives and finds teammates. Christmas often is on the other end of Tyndale's passes.

"They're very good, and they're very good together," Dunphy said. "They complement each other. And they're my top two rebounders, so I need them out there."

MSU's guards give away several inches to Temple's duo, although 6-7 forward Raymar Morgan likely will be involved in guarding one of them. Izzo called Temple a "scary team" because it has several good 3-point shooters.

There are defensive dilemmas for the Spartans but "they've got some matchup issues, too," Izzo said.

MSU has been getting some scouting help from former assistant coach Brian Gregory, who is Dayton's head coach. Dayton also is in the Atlantic 10 and defeated Temple 77-66 this season.

Dunphy is familiar with Izzo and MSU. He brought Penn to Breslin Center in November 2003, going home with a 77-52 loss.

This time, Dunphy will be engaging Izzo on a neutral floor, with a different level of player than he coached at Penn. He didn't sound comforted Monday night.

"They're a typical, hard-playing, disciplined, have-a-plan, Tom Izzo type of team," Dunphy said of MSU. "We have our hands full."

Contact Joe Rexrode at jrexrode@lsj.com.