This may be a surprise to some of you, but March is almost over and there's still a Big 5 team playing.
It doesn't come with nearly the same prestige as playing in the actual Final Four, but advancing to the NIT semifinals is the one way the Temple Owls can prove to the selection committee that they deserved to have a chance.
On Tuesday night, at the sport's most-famous venue, even if not on its biggest stage, Temple will take on Miami (Fla.) at Madison Square Garden with the winner advancing to the NIT title game.
Both teams could have presented legitimate arguments* for being in the NCAA Tournament, but they were ultimately left out in favor of teams like UCLA and NC State. Now, the teams meet up in a game that features two very similar coaches, at least when you compare their resumes. The game will also feature a former Philly hoops standout, Ja'Quan Newton, who was part of three state championship teams at Neumann-Goretti.
*Arguments that became weaker once NC State and UCLA both advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.
Newton is only a freshman, so his minutes have been limited this season, but with starting point guard Angel Rodriguez injured, expect to see plenty of him against the Owls. More on that later, but for now, here's Newton throwing down against Duke. Miami went on to win that game, 90-74, ending the Blue Devils' 41-game winning streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
That's nothing new for the 6-2 guard. Check out this dunk from his high school days:
And now, a quick look at the two teams:
BY THE NUMBERS
A statistical comparison of the two teams
| TEMPLE | MIAMI | |
| W-L | 26-10 (13-5 AAC) | 24-12 (10-8 ACC) |
| PPG | 64.8 | 68.4 |
| Opp. PPG | 61.2 | 63.4 |
| FG% | 38.4 | 43.4 |
| 3PT% | 30.9 | 36.0 |
| RPG | 38.9 | 33.8 |
| APG | 12.3 | 13.1 |
| TO/PG | 9.6 | 10.1 |
RANKINGS AND MORE
The Owls and Hurricanes at a glance
| TEMPLE | MIAMI | |
| Best win | vs. Kansas, 77-52 | at Duke, 90-74 |
| Worst loss | at Cincinnati, 84-53 | vs. E. Kentucky, 72-44 |
| Highest AP Rank | -- | 15th |
| BPI | 63rd | 42nd |
| RPI | 34th | 62nd |
| Strength of Schedule | 61st | 77th |
| W-L vs. RPI Top 25 | 1-5 | 1-7 |
SEASON RECAP
So how did Miami and Temple get here?
| TEMPLE | MIAMI | |
Regular season | • 22-9 overall • 13-5 in AAC • Won 10 of final 12 games | • 20-11 overall • 10-8 in ACC • Started season 8-0 |
Conf. tourney | • Beat Memphis, 80-75 • Lost to SMU, 69-56 • Eliminated in semifinals | • Beat Memphis, 80-75 • Lost to Notre Dame, 70-63 • Eliminated in quarterfinals |
NIT (so far) | • Beat Bucknell, 73-67 • Beat G. Washington, 90-77 • Beat Louisiana Tech, 77-59 | • Beat N. Carolina Central, 75-71 • Beat Alabama, 73-66 • Beat Richmond, 63-61* |
*Miami trailed by 18 points in the second half against Richmond.
COACH
Temple - Fran Dunphy, 503-270 (.651) overall
Miami - Jim Larrañaga, 553-382 (.591) overall
Despite having 50 less wins, it looks like Dunphy has the edge here. However, in recent years, it's been all Larrañaga. If you take out his 11 seasons at Bowling Green, his winning percentage increases to .616 (383-238).
If you isolate it a little more, specifically since Dunphy arrived at Temple in 2006, his winning percentage dips slightly to .643 (193–107). Over that same period, Larrañaga -- five years at George Mason (107-59) and four in Coral Gables (90-48) -- has a .648 win percentage. Suddenly, the 'Canes coach has the edge.
And if you look even more recently, specifically since his arrival at Miami in 2011, it's .652 (90-48) to .624 (83-50) in favor of Larrañaga. Considering the level of competition Miami's facing in the ACC compared to what Dunphy and the Owls are facing in the AAC (and previously the A-10), it's getting harder not to give the edge to the Hurricanes here.
But we're talking about the total body of work, and Dunphy has the better overall record. However, Larrañaga's done two things that the Owls coach has yet to accomplish. First, Larrañaga has been to the Final Four, leading George Mason on that improbable run in 2006. He's also won an AP Coach of the Year* award. That came in 2013 when his Hurricanes won the ACC regular season and tournament titles, the first time in program history for both.
*He also won the now-defunct NCAA Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award in 2006.
When it comes to the postseason, Dunphy is just 3-15 all-time in the NCAA Tournament while Larrañaga is 7-6 all-time and 2-1 at Miami.
This one has to go to Larrañaga, at least until I see Fran do something like this:
LEADING SCORER
Temple - Will Cummings (14.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.9 SPG)
Miami - Sheldon McClellan (14.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, 49.3 FG%)
Neither team has a player projected to be drafted in June, and McClellan, a junior shooting guard who sat out last season after transferring from Texas, is the only player ranked in the Top 100 according to nbadraft.net.
The Hurricanes will likely be without starting point guard Angel Rodriguez for the third-straight game. The junior transfer from Kansas State is averaging 11.9 points per game, but missed the final two games of the regular season with a wrist injury. He returned for a pair of ACC Tournament games, only to re-injure his wrist in Miami's NIT opener against North Carolina Central.
And keep an eye on that Lecomte injury. He's a 46 percent three-point shooter.
One of the players who has been asked to fill in is Newton. The Philly guard is averaging just 12.6 minutes per game this season as a freshman, but in the last eight games for the Hurricanes, he's played at least 20 minutes in half them, including 26 against Richmond in the NIT quarterfinals.
INSIDE PRESENCE
Temple - Jaylen Bond (7.7 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 1.4 SPG, 44.9 FG%)
Miami - Tonye Jekiri (8.7 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 1.4 BPG, 49.8 FG%)
The Owls could struggle with Miami's size on Tuesday night. Bond, their leading* rebounder, is only 6-foot-7, and they only have one player over 6-8 that plays more than two minutes per game (6-10 Devontae Watson at 14.2 minutes). The 'Canes, on the other hand, have a seven-footer in Jekiri, as well as Ivan Cruz Uceda (6-10, 240).
*Don't let the fact that Temple is ranked 28th in the nation in rebounds per game fool you. That's because they're 341st in team field goal percentage. More missed shots means more rebounds to grab.
Dunphy could find his team in foul trouble if Jekiri gets going down low. However, if the Owls are able to space the floor offensively, they can try draw the 'Canes big man away from the basket and create some one-on-one mismatches on the outside.