Chat-World » ?Florida State: Following five wins against lesser

NEW YORK -- Little had gone right for the Temple Owls before they gathered around coach Fran Dunphy during a timeout. It would have been easy for them to lament their woes.Instead, as Shizz Alston Jr. recalled, their message to each other was cloaked in defiance.Were on a big stage, were not going out like this, Alston said after Temples 89-86 victory over No. 25 Florida State on Thursday in the first game of the NIT Season Tip-Off. We want to fight back.Quinton Rose scored 26 points, including two free throws with 2 seconds left. Alston Jr. added 22 points and Obi Enechionyia had 16 points and eight rebounds for the Owls (3-2).Dwayne Bacon had 22 points for the Seminoles (4-1). Jonathan Issac added 19 points. Xavier Rathan-Mayes had 11, and Terance Mann 10.Theyre so deep, Dunphy said about Florida State. So athletic. They can make shots, too.Trailing by 12 with 9:26 left, Temple went on a 15-2 run to take a 73-72 lead. The stretch began when Alston made a 3. That was followed by Roses putback, Enechionyias lay-in, two made free throws by Alston, and consecutive 3s from Alston and Damion Moore.The Owls were able to extend their advantage to 85-80 after Enechionyias made 3 with 3:18 left. But Trent Forrests lay-in with 77 seconds cut the deficit to one, 87-86.They spread the floor, Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said of Temples offensive approach in the second half. They were shooting the 3s and they spread the floor, did a great job of taking us off the dribble when they got to the foul line.Give them credit: They did what they had to do.Florida State had a chance to win, but Isaac air-balled a layup attempt with four seconds left. Roses two free throws sealed the win.We started making every shot we took, Dunphy said.BIG PICTURE:Temple: Coming off a berth in the NCAA Tournament, the Owls are looking for a repeat trip and a win over a Top 25 team is good for the resume. The biggest issue for Temple, though, will be its ability to defend well and, as Shizz Alston Jr. said, can the Owls win games comfortably?Florida State: Following five wins against lesser competition, Florida State took a step up in weight class and was fairly impressive for 30 minutes. However, college basketball games last 40. The Seminoles vaunted defense was broken down repeatedly by Temples guards and, as Leonard Hamilton noted, his team will get its fill of strong opposition once ACC play begins.POLL IMPLICATIONS:Temple: Despite the win, it is unlikely that the Owls will move into the Top 25. Temple had dropped close decisions to New Hampshire and UMass in its second and third games of the season.Florida State: During his postgame press conference, Leonard Hamilton stressed one game does not determine the outcome of a season. But it may -- and likely will -- cost the Seminoles their No. 25 ranking.NOTABLETemple: The National Invitation Tournament Tip-Off marks the sixth time in program history that the Owls participated in the early season event. Temples six appearances are tied with St. Johns for second most in tournament history; Arizona and Duke have made seven appearances apiece.Florida State: The first of two NIT Tip-Off games marked the first time since the third round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament that the Seminoles were a nationally ranked team. Following a 62-56 loss to Cincinnati in the third round, the Seminoles finished the season ranked 10th in the nation.QUOTABLEI think you can come up with a philosophical theory if you want to, but they just had a great night. They did a very good job. Im sure theyre hoping they shoot the ball that well for the remainder of the year. Im hoping we dont defend as poorly as we did tonight and I dont think we will, Florida States Leonard Hamilton, in response to a question regarding his concern about the Seminoles defense.UP NEXTTemple: Will meet West Virginia in championship game Friday.Florida State: Will meet Illinois in the consolation game Friday.---More AP college basketball at http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25 Max Scharping Jersey . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. DeAndre Hopkins Texans Jersey . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players. http://www.officialhoustontexanspro.com/Lonnie-johnson-texans-jersey/ . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. Kahale Warring Youth Jersey . Didier Drogba gave away the penalty that put Senegal one goal away from a major upset, but the veteran striker will get another chance -- probably his last -- at the World Cup after Salomon Kalous injury-time strike sealed the Ivorians place in Brazil next year. Justin Reid Texans Jersey . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. When the first Week 11 inactives were released Sunday, the smattering of defensive players and lineman were a heartening set of names, at least for fantasy purposes, relatively free of impact pass-catchers and running backs.In retrospect, things were a little too quiet.Week 11 ended with fantasy teams tattered and torn, after injuries to A.J. Green, T.J. Yeldon, C.J. Prosise, LeSean McCoy, Ryan Mathews, Darren Sproles, Robert Woods, Giovani Bernard and Zach Miller. Throw in a concussion to Mark Ingram on Thursday night and the fantasy landscape is now what experts like to call a mess.A VERY EARLY LOOK AT THE WAIVER WIREGreens injury leaves the door open for rookie Tyler Boyd and veteran Brandon LaFell to assume larger roles in the offense. Boyd tied a career high with eight targets Sunday after Greens first-quarter exit. He also caught his first career touchdown pass. LaFell, meanwhile, has four touchdowns on the season but just two games with more than 75 receiving yards. While there isnt a clear-cut choice here, Boyd has intriguing upside and the Bengals -- with just three wins -- may want to see what their first-round pick is capable of.As far as running backs go, theres a bit of a disappointing trend for the fantasy owner looking to make waiver wire moves -- many of the injured backs were mired in time shares. Chris Ivory, Thomas Rawls, and Jeremy Hill are going to see big jumps in value, but theyre owned in most leagues.And while LeSean McCoy had thumb surgery, he could still play in Week 12.A fantasy players most attractive option in sifting through the replacement backs is probably Wendell Smallwood (owned in 9 percent of CBSSports.com leagues), who would need both Mathews and Sproles to miss significant time to have an impact -- a gamble worth taking with fantasy seasons on the line. According to Pro Football Focus Nathan Jahnke, Smallwood out-snapped fellow running back Kenjon Barner, 38-18, on Sunday.THEO RIDDICK: FANTASY STUD?Theo Riddick (eight receptions for 70 yards in Week 11) has already set career highs in touchdowns (four), rushing yards (310), and rushing attempts (79). Barring injury, hell likely surpass highs in targets, receptions, receiving yards, and total yards by seasons end.Riddick has at least 775 total yards in his last three games And in point-per-reception formats, his 24 targets and 17 receptions make him an even more valuable piece of a fantasy backfield.dddddddddddd Riddicks next two games -- against Minnesota and New Orleans -- should yield more of the same, as both teams give up 45 receiving yards or more per game to opposing backs (both falling in the bottom 10 in the NFL for that stat).One thing to look out for, however -- Riddick hurt a hand in the first half of the game Sunday. With a traditional Thanksgiving game on deck, a short week for an injured Riddick could make Dwayne Washington a decent speculative pickup.MISCELLANEOUS- With Bills receiver Robert Woods going down, theres a small chance his replacement could be ... Sammy Watkins, who will have a CT scan on his foot Tuesday. The Bills may be cautious rushing Watkins back (after the McCoy debacle earlier this season), but if hes healthy and good to go, it might be worth checking waiver wires for availability.- He carries an incredible amount of risk, but Percy Harvin had the second-most targets (four) and played the second-most snaps (46) among Bills receivers on Sunday.- At this point int he season, backup running backs must be rostered to combat injuries. One name to consider: newly-minted backup Denard Robinson, the No. 2 in Jacksonville, behind an oft-injured Chris Ivory in an offense that has featured both backs in the game plan since Nathaniel Hackett took over as offensive coordinator. Robinson averaged 4.2 yards per carry in 2014-2015, with 44 receptions on 61 targets over two seasons as the sometimes-starter for the Jags.-Tajae Sharpe has a pair of 68 yard, one-touchdown games in his last two. He also has a wild matchup schedule coming up, with games against the Bears (third-most yards allowed to wide receivers), Broncos (fewest), and Chiefs (most).- This years Thanksgiving games are: Minnesota at Detroit, 12:30 p.m. Eastern; Washington at Dallas, 4:30 p.m. Eastern; Pittsburgh at Indianapolis, 8:30 p.m. Eastern.---This column was provided to The Associated Press by the Fantasy Sports Network, http://FNTSY.com ' ' '