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Temple Basketball: 2018-2019 season preview for the Owls

By Stu Luddecke

ORLANDO, FL - MARCH 11: during the final game of the 2018 AAC Basketball Championship against at Amway Center on March 11, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
ORLANDO, FL - MARCH 11: during the final game of the 2018 AAC Basketball Championship against at Amway Center on March 11, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – DECEMBER 13: Head coach Fran Dunphy of the Temple Owls yells out to his team against the Villanova Wildcats at the Liacouras Center on December 13, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – DECEMBER 13: Head coach Fran Dunphy of the Temple Owls yells out to his team against the Villanova Wildcats at the Liacouras Center on December 13, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

After a disappointing 2017-18, expectations are once again high for Temple Basketball, who hope to send retiring head coach Fran Dunphy out on a positive note.

The 2017-18 season was a mixed bag for the Owls. At certain points, the Dunphy-led squad showed flashes of brilliance. They snagged out of conference wins over Auburn and Clemson (4 and 5 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, respectively) and went 8-2 over a tough 10 game stretch in conference play. Also on the bright side, Quinton Rose established himself as an AAC star and potential first-teamer in the conference.

On the other side of the coin, however, the Owls were too often plagued by inconsistency and offensive struggles. They had as many bad losses as they did great wins, giving away games, for example, to A10 bottom-feeders La Salle and George Washington. In terms of scoring the ball, they finished 268th out of 351 Division 1 teams with an average of 69.9 points per game. The nadir of their season came when they lost to UCF by a score of 60-39.

This season, the Owls will have plenty of talent, and they’ll seek to redeem their disappointing season and first-round NIT loss (to in-state rival Penn State) by earning a trip to the Big Dance. With most of their weapons from last year set to come back, they’ll have the experience and depth to do so, especially in a relatively down AAC. Let’s look at what they have in store for what will be Dunphy’s last season at the helm.