Temple’s 3-point barrage halts SMU’s bid for an undefeated season
The few thousand Temple fans who braved icy, snow-covered roads to make it to the Liacouras Center on Sunday afternoon were rewarded for their dedication.
They watched the Owls secure their biggest win of the season and do the NCAA a huge favor in the process.
Temple toppled eighth-ranked SMU 89-80, handing Division I’s last undefeated team its first loss after 18 straight victories to open the season. The Mustangs’ pursuit of an unbeaten regular season was one of college basketball’s most delightfully awkward storylines since they are ineligible to participate in the postseason this spring.
Fueling Temple’s upset bid was an improbable barrage of perimeter jumpers from a team that entered play 288th in 3-point shooting percentage this season. The Owls shot a scalding hot 14-for-29 from behind the arc including 7-for-7 from senior guard Devin Coleman.
Coleman’s biggest threes were the trio that came during a 21-6 Temple second-half surge that transformed a tight game into a one-sided one. SMU stayed competitive until that point by attacking off the dribble and dominating on the offensive glass, but the Mustangs couldn’t string together enough defensive stops to take the lead at any point in the second half.
Temple’s marquee victory restores hope that the Owls may yet make a push to secure an NCAA tournament bid. They’re still only 11-7 overall but they own a pair of quality wins against Cincinnati and a third good win over UConn in addition to Sunday’s upset.
That Temple managed to defeat SMU without injured forward Jaylen Bond is especially impressive. Bond, the Owls’ second-leading scorer and leading rebounder, did not play Sunday as a result of a lower back injury.
If Temple’s challenge will be winning enough conference games to play its way onto the NCAA tournament bubble, SMU’s will be maintaining its focus now that the carrot of an unbeaten regular season is no longer out there to be chased. The Mustangs are still clear-cut favorites to win the American Athletic Conference, but their stated goal this season had been finishing without a loss.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
