University of North Carolina Athletics
Know Your Opponent: Temple
November 13, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Temple (OwlSports.com)
2014-15 Final Rankings: No. 54 KenPom, NR AP
2014-15 Record: 26-11, 13-5 AAC
2014-15 Postseason: Lost to Miami in NIT semifinals
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): Series tied 3-3 (Carolina 75, Temple 72), March 24, 1991, Meadowlands)
Two of the six winningest programs in Division I men's basketball history will take the court Friday when Carolina faces Temple as part of the Veterans Classic in Annapolis. Despite the fact that UNC ranks third in all-time wins and the Owls rank sixth, the two storied programs have met on just six occasions and not since the 1991 Elite Eight.
After some relatively lean years prior to the retirement of longtime head coach John Chaney in 2006, Temple looked across town and hired veteran Penn mentor Fran Dunphy. Dunphy took the Owls to six straight NCAA tournaments from 2008-13, but they were on the outside looking in for a second straight season when the committee designated them as one of the Last Four Out in March.
Gone is the backcourt tandem of All-AAC first team guard Will Cummings and volume shooter Jesse Morgan, but Dunphy returns a solid core fronted by the AAC's leading rebounder Jaylen Bond. The senior forward ranked in the top five in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage in American games last season and was elected solo team captain by his teammates, a first for a Dunphy-coached Temple squad.
Joining Bond in the likely starting lineup are last year's second-leading scorer Quenton DeCosey (12.3 ppg, 2.2 apg, 51 made 3s), new starting point guard Josh Brown, former reserve wing Devin Coleman and last year's team leader in blocks Obi Enechionyia.
Temple ranked 18th in adjusted defensive efficiency last year according to KenPom.com and the Owls are projected to be among the top 50 nationally in that category again in 2015-16. Dunphy has had his last four clubs play at a tempo at or slightly above the national average, and that trend should continue as well.
Ultimately the challenge for Temple in the early going will be figuring out a way to replace Cummings, a 6-2 point guard who rarely left the court, was adept at getting to the foul line and scored nearly 15 points per game despite being a 23 percent shooter from beyond the arc. The Owls were picked to finish sixth in the American, a position that would likely see them fall short of the NCAA tournament for a third straight year. But with a proven commodity like Dunphy on the bench, dismiss Temple at your peril.
