MERAN'S LAW: Temple is the last piece in Big 5 puzzle

"We've always wanted to beat Temple," Penn forward Shawn Trice said. "Freshman year is the closest we came. It seemed like we were closer last year, but they added on a lot of points after the game was over. For the five seniors, we want to get out of here with a win against the Owls. [Penn guard] Matt [Maloney] just wants to get one win against his father. It would be sweet for all of us to beat Temple." The five seniors who have accomplished almost everything they could have dreamed of are looking for this win. They want to fill one of the few empty spaces remaining on their never-ending list of achievements. An NCAA tournament victory is already there. So are the two straight unblemished Ivy League titles and the 36 consecutive league wins -- and so are victories against all of their fierce city series rivals. Except one. Temple. Before the arrival of perhaps the greatest single class of basketball players in the history of the Ivy League, Penn had not beaten La Salle since 1987. The Quakers have now knocked off the Explorers four years in a row. Villanova had owned Penn, having dropped only two games to the Quakers in the 1980s. Two years ago at the Spectrum, Penn tamed those same 'Cats with a double-digit victory. For St. Joseph's, the story is eerily similar. Penn had not defeated the Hawks since the magical 1979 year when the Quakers found themselves in the NCAA Final Four. Enter a Jerome Allen three-pointer from way downtown last season and scratch out that losing streak. The only streak for which Penn has not yet enacted its revenge is the one against the Owls. The last time the Quakers did not wind up on the short side of the scoreboard against Temple remains 1982. There have been 13 long, unlucky games since that fateful victory. It may just be a coincidence that the next year a fellow by the name of John Chaney got the job as Temple's head coach. The Quakers have not beaten the Owls since. But that can all change tonight. Temple is in the midst of a down year, and Penn is as good now as the Quakers are ever going to be. Penn was almost able to escape from McGonigle Hall with a victory last year against a national powerhouse that featured two eventual first-round NBA selections. With six minutes to play, the game was dead even at 54. Then the experience of Eddie Jones and Aaron McKie took over and the Owls pulled away down the stretch. There really was not much the Quakers could do to prevent Jones from stepping into passing lanes for steals and dunking at the other end. This time around the experience and the home court advantage fall on Penn's side. The Quakers are now the more talented team, and Temple has found points nearly impossible to come by. Still, the Owls' match-up zone conjures up frightful images of teams being happy just to avoid a turnover or a 35-second violation. After Sunday's loss at the hands of the Owls, Louisville coach Denny Crum felt his team had been able to get good looks at the basket but just did not knock down the open jumpers. It was only the second time in 109 games that the Cardinals had been held to less than 60 points. The other time was when they played Temple a year ago. Sunday also marked the eighth time this season the Owls have held their opponents to 25 or more points below their scoring average. It should come as no surprise Temple has the top-ranked defense in the nation. Coaches like Crum are always saying they simply were not able to hit open shots against the zone. Due to the frequency of these kind of befuddled comments, it is quickly becoming apparent the Owls know something everybody else does not. It is that something which Penn will have to figure out if it hopes to put the 13-year jinx to bed. Last year, the zone forced Penn into bad shots and a measly 39 percent shooting mark. The Owls aren't as good this time around. The Quakers are better. There is no more perfect place or time to end the streak than tonight. Nothing could be more fitting than for Penn's five seniors to get their first-ever win against Temple in front of the home fans on Big 5 Hall of Fame night. It would just add one more milestone to that ever-growing list. Andy Meran is a Wharton junior from Boca Raton, Fla., and a sportswriter for The Daily Pennsylvanian. He is the DP's King Swami and he's damn proud of it. Meran's Law appears alternate Tuesdays.