Temple faces a true test against UMass
There's a sports cliché that the next game is the most important one on a team's schedule. For Temple, the game after the next one really could be the most important.
There's a sports cliché that the next game is the most important one on a team's schedule.
For Temple, the game after the next one really could be the most important.
Temple (16-7, 5-4 Atlantic Ten) should destroy its next opponent, Duquesne (7-16, 0-9), on Thursday night at the Liacouras Center. The Dukes head to Philadelphia on an 11-game losing streak.
But the Owls will be tested Saturday at Massachusetts in a game that could go a long way in determining whether they receive an NCAA tournament at-large bid.
Right now, Temple would be one of the last four teams in, according to ESPN college basketball analyst Joe Lunardi.
Beating the Minutemen (16-6, 6-3) would be recognized as a quality road win for the Owls. Though Temple defeated Syracuse at a neutral site, its best true road victory was at Villanova (15-9 before Tuesday's game). The Owls' other road wins were against Kent State (13-11), Buffalo (9-15), George Washington (11-11), and Dayton (13-10) - teams with a combined 46-47 record. Of those four squads, Dayton has the best RPI ranking (116), according to CBSSports.com. However, beating UMass, which has a 52 RPI, won't be easy.
The Minutemen are 8-2 at the Mullins Center. Their two home losses were against third-ranked Miami on Dec. 1 and George Washington on Jan. 19. Since then, UMass has won its three home games.
Strangers at home
The Daskalakis Athletic Center has been a place where Drexel opponents have hated to play. The Dragons were 15-1 there last season and 37-7 over their most recent three-year span.
But the Dragons have won just three of 10 games at the DAC this season and are 2-4 in CAA play, not good news when they have two games remaining in a four-game homestand.
"We've been absolutely awful at home, period," Drexel coach Bruiser Flint said. "We've been worse here than we've been on the road. We've actually played better on the road. We've shot the ball terribly at home."
The Dragons have connected on 39 percent of their attempts from the field in six CAA home games, compared to 42.1 percent in six conference games on the road. They shot 41.7 percent in Sunday's 60-48 win over James Madison.
Hot-shooting Hilliard
Villanova guard Darrun Hilliard didn't panic when his field-goal percentage dropped to 33.8 percent after 16 games; he believed that as long as he did what was needed on defense, the shots eventually would fall.
And the shots have fallen for the sophomore from Bethlehem, Pa. Going into Tuesday night's game at Cincinnati, Hilliard was averaging a team-best 16.2 points in his last eight games, shooting 52.0 percent from the field and 45.2 percent from three-point range. He has been the Wildcats' high scorer in five of those games.
"Every game my mind-set is just to come in and do the little things," said Hilliard, who is averaging 11.7 points overall. "I try to rebound as much as I can, get as many steals as I can, get as many deflections as I can. I don't really come into games looking to score or doing anything spectacular. I'm in the game to play defense and help my team win. If I score, I score."
Hawks struggling
After road losses to Dayton and Massachusetts, St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli had a blunt assessment of his Hawks.
"We are a team right now that is fragile mentally, physically, and the biggest thing is the ball is not going in the basket," said Martelli, whose squad is 13-9 and 4-5 in the A-10. "We have a number of really good guys on the team, and their play hasn't met their own expectations or the expectations of the people around them."
One of the keys is that the Hawks are just 13th in the A-10 in turnover margin. They have 11.8 per game, and are forcing 10.1 for a -1.68 margin.
Explorers look to keep rolling
La Salle can't afford to take St. Bonaventure lightly in Wednesday's A-10 game at the Reilly Center.
The Bonnies (11-11, 4-5) have won four of their last six - including back-to-back victories at Temple and St. Joseph's. The Explorers (16-6, 6-3) must contain Bonnies forward Demitrius Conger, who leads his team in scoring (13.9 points) and rebounds (6.6).
Defense key for Quakers
Penn is 6-0 when holding opponents to fewer than 50 points in the Jerome Allen coaching era. Saturday's 23-point victory (71-48) over Brown also marked the Quakers' largest margin of victory since a 31-point win over Dartmouth a little more than a year ago.
Tournament odds good for Temple, La Salle
Both Temple and La Salle would play in first-round games if the NCAA tournament field were picked Wednesday, according to Joe Lunardi, an ESPN college basketball analyst. There are only four first-round games in a field of 68 teams.
The Owls would be one of two No. 12 seeds in the West Regional, and the Explorers are projected to be one of the East Regional's two No. 11 seeds. All the first-round games will be played in Dayton, Ohio.
Lunardi, known as Joey Brackets, has the Owls facing the region's other No. 12 seed, St. Mary's. The winner would face No. 5 Marquette in a second-round matchup in Kansas City, according to Lunardi.
Lunardi, a St. Joseph's graduate who does Hawks radio broadcasts, has La Salle facing the East's other No. 11 seed, Virginia. The victor would face No. 6 seed Creighton in a second-rounder in Auburn Hills, Mich.
Temple and La Salle are the only City Six teams listed on Lunardi's latest bracket. He has a total of five Atlantic Ten Conference teams playing in the tourney.
Butler is projected as the East Regional's No. 4 seed. Virginia Commonwealth is the No. 8 seed in the Midwest, and St. Louis is 11th in the West.