Last season, the Temple Owls fell just short of a berth in the NCAA Tournament, after an AAC Tournament loss to SMU in the semi-final ended any shot that Temple had of competing in the “big dance.” Temple went 0-2 against SMU in the regular season, but the third matchup between the two teams was in that semifinal game, with SMU edging out the Owls 69-56.
This year, SMU is ranked number eight in the nation with an 18-0 record, and the Mustangs are the last undefeated team in division 1 basketball. Although SMU is ineligible for the postseason following NCAA violations, that hasn’t stopped the team from playing at the highest level.
Coach Fran Dunphy and point guard Josh Brown spoke about the upcoming matchup with SMU, after the Owls took down La Salle in a Big 5 game at the Palestra. Dunphy expressed his respect for coach Larry Brown, and 2015 AAC Player of the Year, Nic Moore. If Temple can manage to upset SMU, it would be the Owls third win over a top-25 opponent this season.
The Temple-SMU game was originally scheduled for tonight at 8 p.m., but was postponed due to winter storm Jonas. The game is rescheduled for Sunday at noon at the Liacouras Center, and if you can’t make it on Sunday, you can watch it on ESPN2.
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