The men’s basketball team was ranked No. 22 in ESPN/USA Today’s preseason poll. It’s the first time since 2001 that the Owls have entered a season ranked in the Top 25. As previously reported, the Owls were also ranked No. 21 in Fox Sports’ preseason poll.

Two other Atlantic Ten Conference teams, Dayton and Xavier, also received votes but did not manage to crack the Top 25.

Temple opens the season at home against Seton Hall on Nov. 12.

The rest of the rankings can be viewed here.

Senior forward Lavoy Allen of  the men’s basketball team was added to the preseason watch list for the John Wooden Award on Tuesday. Allen, a 6-foot-9-inch Pennsbury product, was one of 50 players named to the list.

The award, named after former UCLA coach John Wooden, is given to the nation’s top collegiate player who also maintained a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or higher.  A committee will narrow the list down to 20 candidates in March.

Evan Turner, drafted second overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in June, won the award last year. Past winners include Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and David Robinson.

Allen averaged 11.5 points and 10.7 rebounds per game for the Owls last season. Temple opens up the season against Seton Hall on Nov. 12 at the Liacouras Center.

Candice Dupree, a power forward who played for the Owls from 2002-2006,  helped lead the United States Women’s Basketball team to a World Championship yesterday. In the process, Dupree shot 75 percent from the field, a mark that broke Dawn Staley’s 16-year-old record of 69 percent.

The particularly interesting part of this story is the fact that Dupree played for Staley while at Temple.  Staley, now the coach at South Carolina, left Temple following the 2007 season.

Dupree is a three-time WNBA all-star and will likely represent the U.S in the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Alex Jospeh, a former linebacker and team captain with the football team, has signed with the Oakland Raiders’ practice squad on Sept. 30, according to Vittorio Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle.

After spending last season as the leading tackler for the Owls with 80 tackles, Joseph signed with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in April. He was later cut by the team on Sept. 4.

This brings the number of players from Al Golden’s senior class in the NFL back up to four. Defensive back Dominique Harris is on the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad, defensive lineman Brian Sanford is on the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad and defensive tackle Andre Neblett is on the Carolina Panthers’ 53-man roster.

Former Temple quarterback Henry Burris. Photos are via Deadspin.

Henry Burris, a former Temple quarterback from the mid-90s and current starter for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadien Football League, has found himself in the awkward position of having to explain why there are pictures of him in a bra with a woman who is not his wife, according to the blog deadspin.com.

The photos originally surfaced on a message board website for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the main rival of Calgary, and spread from there. Burris told The Calgary Sun that the photos were part of a birthday prank and that his wife was aware of them.

Burris holds nearly all passing records at Temple and is ranked second all-time in Big East career passing yards with 7,495.

Here is a link to the original article: http://deadspin.com/5650975/last-nights-winner-quarterback-in-a-bra

Steve Maneri, who started 25 games at tight end during his time at Temple, was released from the New England Patriots yesterday, the team’s site reports. Maneri was originally signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent on May 7.  While with the Texans, Maneri made the switch to offensive tackle, a position that scouts believed he could excel at due to his strong blocking skills.

Maneri was placed on waivers by the Texans on Sept. 6 and was subsequently picked up by the Patriots. The Saddle Brook, N.J, native was inactive for New England’s first three games.

With Maneri’s release, only three members of coach Al Golden’s first senior class remain in the National Football League. Defensive tackle Andre Neblett is currently a backup on the Carolina Panthers and has found his way into one game so far.  Defensive end Brian Sanford is currently on Cleveland’s practice squad. Cornerback Dom Harris, who played safety at Temple before switching positions, is on Buffalo’s practice squad.

Offensive tackle Devin Tyler was released from Baltimore’s practice squad Sept. 21 while linebacker Alex Joseph was released by the Green Bay Packers before the season began.

The athletic department has come to an agreement with the Mid-American Conference that will extend the football team’s tenure in the conference by two years, OwlScoop.com reports. The team’s previous agreement was scheduled to expire following this season.

According to the terms of the deal, the men and women’s basketball teams will continue to play a number of games against MAC opponents every year.

The Owls, fresh off their win over Connecticut,  travel to State College to play Penn State on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.