SMU's Larry Brown expects a battle from Temple
DALLAS - Aside from his own team and coaches, Temple point guard Will Cummings may not have a bigger booster than Southern Methodist coach Larry Brown.
DALLAS - Aside from his own team and coaches, Temple point guard Will Cummings may not have a bigger booster than Southern Methodist coach Larry Brown.
The former Sixers coach was effusive in his praise for Temple's senior floor leader before the Mustangs practiced Wednesday at Moody Coliseum.
Temple (19-7, 10-3 American Athletic Conference) has won seven in a row. The Owls visit No. 21 SMU (21-5, 12-2) on Thursday night in a key two-game road trip that continues Sunday at Tulsa.
"I don't think Cummings gets any credit around the league," Brown said. "You hear of all different guys, but he is great. I love the way he plays and I think our guy is pretty darn good."
The 6-foot-2 Cummings will match up at point guard against Brown's guy, junior Nic Moore.
The 5-9 Moore, who played his freshman year at Illinois State before transferring to SMU, leads the AAC in assists at 5.4 per game. He is also the Mustangs leading scorer, third in the AAC, averaging 14.4 points.
"Nic Moore is a really good basketball player and really good in transition," Temple coach Fran Dunphy said earlier this week. "When they need him to score, he feels like he can do it at any time so that is a fun matchup to watch those two guys."
Cummings, who averages 13.7 points and 4.1 assists, admits that facing one of the league's best point guards provides added incentive.
"It is definitely a motivator when the other team has a great guard, too," Cummings said. "You go out there and do what you have to do for your team to win."
Both guards had subpar games by their standards during SMU's 60-55 win at Temple on Jan. 14. Cummings hobbled through 27 minutes, scoring just one point. He suffered a strained muscle in his lower left leg the game before against Tulsa and clearly wasn't himself.
"Cummings was hurt and wasn't 100 percent even though he still played well," said Brown, whose team has won 11 of its last 12.
Moore struggled against Temple, scoring 10 points on 4-for-11 shooting and committing seven turnovers. He hit two huge shots late, including a three-pointer with 1 minute, 18 seconds left that gave the Mustangs the lead for good, 55-52.
"It is going to be more than just the point guards," Brown cautioned.
One of the players to watch is 6-9 Markus Kennedy, the Philadelphia product who began his college career at Villanova. Kennedy scored 21 points in the win over Temple, making 9 of 11 shots from the field. He admitted getting extra motivation playing any team from Philadelphia and especially Temple.
"It always fun because I know so many people on the team," said Kennedy, who is averaging 11.1 points and 5.9 rebounds. "It is kind of for bragging rights."
Few people brag more about Temple than Brown.
"I love their team," he said. "They have depth and size, the backcourt has depth.'
Brown still seems in awe when recalling Temple's most impressive win of the season, a 77-52 victory over Kansas on Dec. 22 at the Wells Fargo Center.
"If you can beat Kansas the way they beat Kansas, you can beat anybody," Brown said. "This is a big game for both teams."
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