Around College Basketball: Dunphy settles in at Temple

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/15/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As a native of the Philadelphia, and after spending 17 seasons as the coach at Penn, Fran Dunphy knows every inch of the majestic Palestra - Philadelphia's shrine to college basketball.

So there has to be something at least a little unsettling when Dunphy comes back to coach for visiting Temple, from using the visiting locker room to sitting on the visitor's bench.

Dunphy returned again on Wednesday night to play Penn at the Palestra for the second time, with his 2007 visit still fresh in his memory banks. But this game between Temple and Penn was played without the circus atmosphere of his first return.

Penn ended up pulling that one out, 76-74, before 6,103 raucous fans at the Palestra, and Dunphy was determined to have his team more focused this time.

"It's much, much different, the fanfare," Dunphy said following Temple's surprisingly easy 78-53 victory. "I knew it was coming (in 2007). It was a crazy night."

Though Dunphy was his same, old, high-strung self on the sidelines, everything around him was more relaxed, including the crowd of 4,261 fans.

"It's just (the passage of) time. Time marches on. Now I've been here a couple of times. It's not novel anymore."

It didn't hurt on Wednesday that Dionte Christmas and company roared out of the gate with a 7-0 start. The struggling Penn Quakers, who fell to 3-8 on the season, didn't help their own cause by committing turnovers on three possessions and taking two-and-a-half minutes to even get off its first shot.

Eight minutes into the game, Ryan Brooks nailed a three-pointer to give Temple a 25-7 lead and the game was basically over. With the smooth senior guard Christmas contributing 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting and nine rebounds, while forward Craig Williams adjusted to his new role as a starter with a career- high 17 points, the Owls led by as many as 30 points before Dunphy cleared his bench.

The victory left Dunphy feeling upbeat about his current team.

Temple may be just 9-6 on the season and 1-0 in the Atlantic 10, but Dunphy has always had a way of bringing his teams along as a season progresses and this edition of the Owls should be one to keep an eye on as the A-10 campaign unfolds.

But Dunphy could put that all away as he enjoyed another victory at the Palestra on Wednesday night.

"It's always great to come back to the Palestra," said Dunphy. "Penn was real good to me in my time here."

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Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS

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NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.

Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.

There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.

Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.

The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

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