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AAC Basketball: Tournament preview and predictions

By Steven Massucci

Mar 15, 2015; Hartford, CT, USA; The Southern Methodist Mustangs celebrate after defeating the Connecticut Huskies during the final round of the American Conference Tournament at XL Center. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports at XL Center.
Mar 15, 2015; Hartford, CT, USA; The Southern Methodist Mustangs celebrate after defeating the Connecticut Huskies during the final round of the American Conference Tournament at XL Center. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports at XL Center. /
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Feb 21, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Temple Owls forward Obi Enechionyia (0) celebrates with guard Daniel Dingle (4) after a play during the first half against the Houston Cougars at Hofheinz Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 21, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Temple Owls forward Obi Enechionyia (0) celebrates with guard Daniel Dingle (4) after a play during the first half against the Houston Cougars at Hofheinz Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Temple Owls

Fran Dunphy’s Owls won the AAC regular season title with a 14-4 record in conference play, making them the most likely American team to make the NCAA tournament at this point in the season. This could fare poorly for the conference, as Temple has lost to all formidable out of conference opponents this year.

Temple lost in both the semis of the AAC tournament and NIT last year. Unfortunately, they lost senior point guard Will Cummings from that team, who controlled the Owl’s offense, leading them in assists and scoring.

Junior guard Josh Brown has taken over Cummings’ role as floor director, averaging eight points and five assists per game. Senior guard Quenton DeCosey leads Temple in scoring with almost 16 a game.

Sophomore forward Obi Enechionyia is the key to Temple’s success. He shoots lights out from three at 42% and is a complete mismatch on the perimeter at 6’9.” He’s also shown the ability to catch fire and put games away himself.

Senior Jaylen Bond is the big man for the Owls. He transferred from Texas after his 2012-2013 freshman campaign. Built like a football player, Bond can be a force down low.

6’7″ junior Daniel Dingle is a key 6th man for the Temple frontcourt.

Dunphy’s offense relies heavily on the three ball. Temple makes more threes per game than any team in the conference. However, they only rank 6th in the AAC in three point shooting percentage.

The Owl offense is also one of the premier teams at protecting the ball, ranking 3rd in the country in least turnovers committed.

Prediction

Quarterfinals Win vs. ECU – Temple lost in Greenville in late January, so they have to be careful not to overlook the Pirates, especially since a loss could eliminate them from at-large consideration.

However, they were missing Bond, their key man in the middle, which drastically changed the course of this game. This tournament game will likely go more like the contest these two played in Philly earlier that month, where Temple dominated in every facet of the game.

Semifinals Loss to Cincinnati – Temple leads the season series with a couple of tight, early season wins against the Bearcats. The last contest went into double overtime and was won on a Bond offensive rebound and layup with 20 seconds to play.

In both contests, the Bearcats were able to hold Enechionyia to only two points. If they can pull off this feat again, the improved Bearcat offense should have enough to advance to the finals.

Next: 2. Tulsa Golden Hurricane