Penn State men’s basketball (21-13, 11-10 Big Ten) was not selected to play in the NCAA Tournament, but earned a fourth seed in the NIT and will now host fifth-seeded Temple (17-15, 8-10 AAC) in the first round at the Bryce Jordan Center. Pat Chambers announced that Mike Watkins, who missed the end of the regular season and the whole Big Ten Tournament, will “probably” miss the entire tournament unless Penn State is able to make a run to the latter parts at Madison Square Garden.

Zeroing In On Temple

Penn State’s roster features seven players from the Philadelphia area, including stars Tony Carr and Lamar Stevens.

“Coming from the Philly area, playing against some of our good friends, it’s different, but it’s going to be fun and it’s going to be a tough game,” Roman Catholic alum Shep Garner said.

Sophomore guard Quinton Rose leads the Owls with 15.1 points per game. He scored 25 points against top-ranked Wichita State in Temple’s loss during the AAC Tournament.

Lamar Stevens is quite familiar with Temple’s second leading scorer Shizz Alston Jr., who is averaging 13.2 points per game.

“I went to high school with Shizz Alston for two years– he’s one of my best friends,” Stevens said at a press conference prior to this game.

The two Philly natives attended the Haverford School together, before Stevens transferred to Roman Catholic High School, where he joined forces with Tony Carr and Nazeer Bostick.

Obi Enechionyia will be an interesting matchup for Julian Moore and John Harrar. The 6’10” senior forward is averaging 10.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, but also is a threat from the perimeter — shooting 35% from three-point range.

Last Meeting

This will be the first game between the two programs since the Owls knocked Penn State out of the first round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament with a 66-64 win. Juan Fernandez buried an off-balance 18-footer with less than a second to play to give Temple the victory and knock the Nittany Lions out of the tournament.

Talor Battle scored 23 points, including five three-pointers, to lead Penn State in the game. Tim Frazier added 15 points, five rebounds, and seven assists in the Nittany Lion loss.

Prediction

This game will be interesting to see how the individual matchups play out, because most of these players are very familiar with each other. With more than a week off, Coach Chambers’ team has had plenty of time to rest following its three games in three days at the Big Ten Tournament.

Shep Garner demonstrated he did not want his career at Penn State to end against Purdue during his heroic performance and will play with the same mentality against Temple. Tony Carr should be able to bounce back from some poor shooting in the Big Ten Tournament, and Penn State should get good contributions from Lamar Stevens, who’s also playing with a chip on his shoulder.

Josh Reaves was almost non-existent in the Big Ten Tournament, failing to score a point against Purdue in the semifinals. Reaves’ defense and role scoring will be key for Penn State to advance. Penn State should be able to handle Temple and advance to the second round against Notre Dame in South Bend.

Penn State-Temple tips off at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Bryce Jordan Center. The game will be aired on ESPNU.