Record aside, was Temple overrated?

NASHVILLE - Was Temple as good as we thought?

Sure, the Owls finished the season with a 24-8 record, briefly held a national ranking and had an 11-game winning streak at one stretch.

They also had a signature win over Duke. But that was the same Blue Devils squad that was bounced by tiny Lehigh in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Friday night.

So can beating Duke really be used as a barometer for Temple's season?

Teams are judged by what they do during postseason, where it's sudden death every game. And the Owls were one and done in both the Atlantic Ten Conference and NCAA tournaments.

"People are going to say whatever they want to say," Temple center Micheal Eric said of the critics saying the Owls were overhyped. "Even if we win, people are saying, 'We aren't good enough to win the game.' "

Eric, a graduate student, played his final game during Friday's 58-44 NCAA tourney second-round Midwest Regional setback to South Florida at Bridgestone Arena. He doesn't think people should remember the Owls for their early exits.

Unfortunately for him, Temple will be remembered more for those two setbacks than winning their first outright Atlantic Ten regular-season title since 1990.

Temple was expected to win the conference tourney. And the Owls themselves said anything less than advancing to the NCAA's Sweet 16 would be a disappointment.

"We're disappointed," Temple fifth-year senior guard Ramone Moore said. "Coach [Fran] Dunphy said it's on him, but I think it's on us. There's only so much he can do. I think he does a great job of preparing us.

"We just didn't come out and do our job, and we got to put it on ourselves. And it's too bad I can't do anything about it. It's the end of my career."

That career ended with two games he'd like to forget.

Temple earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament despite losing in the A-10 quarterfinals to Massachusetts, but the Owls sure didn't play like a five seed. Instead, they recorded their lowest point total in the tourney since scoring just 43 points in a 1986 loss to Kansas.

As a result, Temple was bounced from its opening game for the fourth time in five consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. Dunphy's NCAA tournament mark sank to 2-13, a record that dates back to 17 seasons at Penn. The Drexel Hill native is in his sixth season at Temple.

After reaching the third round of last season's West Regional, Dunphy was asked if the Owls put too much pressure on themselves to win.

"Pressure is a privilege, and so we were privileged to be in this situation, privileged to be representing Temple in the NCAA tournament," Dunphy said. "I wish we could have done better.

"But in terms of putting more pressure on themselves, that's what young people do. It's what competitors do. I think that's what you want."