I think our fans (and team) should dismiss Temple at our own peril. They struggled early in the year (again), but have been playing much better ball lately, including a win over otherwise undefeated South Carolina. They are always tough to play, especially for GW.
As far as strategy, I agree completely with NPR. Temple doesn't shoot well, but they also don't turn it over. I'm afraid that if we play the traps all game Temple won't turn it over and will get easy buckets and open 3s. I'm sure we'll do some trapping, but I'd rather see it mied in as an occasional change up defense than a consistent all game strategy.
I feel good about our chances to score (provided TJ bounces back from his bad shooting game). So far this year, I thinnk we've played pretty well against zones -- we've shot it well from deep and generally moved the ball OK against zones. Granted, Temple's zone is different and our penchant for sloppy passes could be a problem, but I think we'll be able to get into the 70s against them this year. Look for Lucas and Collucci to get minutes, look for Hall, Omar and Elliot to take turns guarding Hawkins.
The other interesting thing to watch will be Keith Butler, Temple's talented, but erratic big man. He's the type of guy who could kill us if they pound it in to him. I'd like to see us attack him inside with Pops and Tamal to get him in foul trouble (caviat: we can only do that if Temple is focusing on the perimeter because if Chaney doesn't want a team to catch it in the post, they aren't going to even if your big man is Tim Duncan). I think Tamal can use his strength to push Butler out of the post and make him catch it out of his comfort zone. If Butler is going off, we'll probably see Kireev because of his height (come to think of it, AK's ability to pass out of the high post might make him useful on offense this game).
If we play to our ability, I think we win. If we make too many bonehead plays, we'll lose. I think after the SJU game we have the confidence to win again. What say all of you?