City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)
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During a Temple practice earlier in the week, the Owls fell short of reaching a goal during a team shooting drill and they asked their coach for another chance.

But, wanting to teach a lesson, Fran Dunphy didn’t allow it.

“We had our chance, we didn’t get it done, and you move on to the next thing,” he told reporters Monday afternoon. “You only get one chance in life. And here’s one chance for us to play Villanova, the No. 1-ranked team and we have to do a good job between 7 and 9 (p.m.).”

Well, for Temple, this is actually its second chance against the nation’s No. 1 team this season after opening the campaign against then-top-ranked North Carolina. But Wednesday night is different.

Here’s three things to look for in the season’s final Big 5 matchup:

A high degree of meaning for both teams, but for different meanings

The Owls are at home against their Big 5 rival. For a team with a knack for upsets in recent years, and in need of another marquee win for their tournament resume, Wednesday night means a lot.

A loss to Villanova wouldn’t hurt Temple’s NCAA Tournament hopes too much, but the team will not have another opportunity like this again this season. The Owls are currently in first place in the AAC and Joe Lunardi has them in the field of 68 as an 11 seed.

A victory against the Wildcats would be the second over a top 10 opponent in a month at the Liacouras Center, result in another court storming and make the Owls’ path to March Madness much, much easier.

For Villanova, every game is meaningful when you have a 1 next to your name. People are gunning for you. There’s not a team and fan base in the country that wouldn’t relish the chance to knock you off – especially when that team is a cross-town rival.

While the Wildcats’ NCAA Tournament fate is sealed, they still have the incentive of playing for the top seed, which would, in all likelihood, put them in the East regionals, where the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 are held at the Wells Fargo Center.

Who will shoot the 3-ball better?

The Owls have hit 37 percent or better from beyond the arc nine times this season – eight of those times have been wins.

This includes their biggest upset as they shot 48.3 percent on triples when they beat then-No. 8 SMU on Jan. 24. Temple is shooting 33.7 percent on threes this season, but have a trio of players – Quenton DeCosey, Obi Enechionyia and Devin Coleman – that are liable to catch fire from distance at any moment.

Villanova also boasts some impressive shooters in Ryan Arcidiacono, Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson, though the team has been a bit streaky from beyond the arc this season. For example, in its last game, Villanova went 0-for-11 in the first half on threes against St. John’s. Yet two weeks ago, Jay Wright’s team hit 16 of its 29 3-point attempts against Creighton. A hot or cold shooting performance could be the difference Wednesday night.

Will someone help DeCosey on offense?

DeCosey is, by far, Temple’s most-consistent and biggest scoring threat.

The senior averages 16.6 points per game and has attempted 54 more field goals and 81 more free throws than any of his teammates. But the big question for Temple, especially in big games, is who can help him share the offensive burden?

The Owls have four players – Enechionyia, Coleman, Josh Brown and Jaylen Bond – who average between 8.2 and 9.7 points per game, and they’ll need at least one of them to step up and help DeCosey against a stingy Villanova defense which allows just 61 points per game.