PHILADELPHIA — On Selection Sunday, Temple faced the same fate as they did last year: a second round loss in the AAC Tournament, unassured of a March Madness birth, and sitting on the bubble.
This year, the selection committee voted in Temple’s favor.
Merely 20 minutes into CBS Sports’ Selection Show, Temple was announced as a #10 seed in the South Regional facing the #7 seed Iowa Hawkeyes in the first round of the NCAA Tournament after missing the big dance the last two seasons,
“Everybody was excited. We got our named called, and we had been left out the previous year, so it’s just an amazing feeling,” said All-ACC First Team selection Quenton DeCosey. DeCosey was a part of the 2013 team that made a run into the round of 32, before losing to Indiana in the final seconds. Both DeCosey and Jaylen Bond said this selection marked the the best moment of their Temple careers.
“Definitely number one, getting back in the tournament, being one of the leaders of the team helping us get back in, defiantly number one” said DeCosey.
Head Coach Fran Dunphy guided a team that was picked to finish sixth in the conference to the regular season title. Temple could have secured an automatic birth by winning the AAC Tournament, but UConn ran Temple out of the building with a 77-62 win in the seminfinals. After Saturday’s loss, Dunphy and the rest of the team were forced to play the waiting game. He resorted to his usual routine of walking alone around the Pearson-McGonigle practice court while the selection show was in progress. A little past 6:00, Dunphy’s phone erupted with text messages and calls.
“I was happy for the blowing up,” Dunphy said in reference to his phone. “Obviously it meant we were in.”
The Owls went 20-10 in the regular season, with a conference record of 14-4 that put them atop the AAC. The up and down ride included a tough, 1-3 opening stretch against top tier opponents North Carolina and Wisconsin. The Owls made a splash, however, when they upset then undefeated #8 SMU at home in early January. Temple also swept the regular season from AAC Tournament Champ UConn, stealing the latest matchup at home after being down double-digits late.
Friday afternoon will mark Temple’s 32nd appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and Dunphy’s 16th trip to the big dance. The Owls have made runs to the Elite Eight on five separate occasions (latest in 2001 under Coach John Cheny) and the Final Four twice (latest in 1958). Temple was picked as the #10 seed in the South region. Iowa, the #7 seed, has lost six of their last eight games, but did upset powerhouse Michigan State twice.
The game will be played Friday at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn at approximately 3 PM. The time will vary depending on the ending of the game between #2 seed Villanova and #15 seed UNC Asheville. Temple has a chance to face off against Big 5 rival Villanova if both teams can survive and advance the round of 64.
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