Temple

 

Temple Owls

Atlantic 10 Conference (29-5, 14-2)

Seed: #5

Talk about making an impact. Darington Hobson's first season of D1 basketball was certainly a memorable one. The CollegeHoops.net High-Major Player of the Year led New Mexico to an MWC title by averaging 16.2 ppg, 9.3 rpg, and 4.5 apg. He's joined on the High-Major First Team by guards Jordan Crawford, Jimmer Fredette, and Randy Culpepper, as well as WAC Player of the Year Luke Babbitt.

 

Dayton

UMASS

Rhode Island

Richmond

St Bonaventure

St Louis

Temple

Xavier

College basketball is in full momentum mode now with dozens of games each week that have major implications on the NCAA Tournament. All of the games below matter in a big way.

Florida vs Mississippi St - 1:30
-- In most bracketology projections, Florida has been left out of the field in recent weeks while MSU has been in. That could all change this weekend as the Gators host  an MSU team that has lost 3 of 4. Its conceivable that only 1 of these two teams make the dance, and that this game is a strong deciding factor.

Tracy Smith, a native of Durham, celebrated his 22nd birthday with one of the best games of his career in leading NC State to an 88-74 win over #7 Duke. Smith made ten of his twelve field goal attempts in scoring 23 points and as a team the Wolfpack shot a blistering 58.2% from the field. "Our defense was the worst it's been all year," lamented Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski following the game. "Obviously, our big guys weren't on like they were the last two games. Why does that happen? I don't know. But it's not just them.

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When looking at a map of the Division I college basketball programs, the East Coast is peppered with the vast majority of the schools who belong amongst the nation's elite. Smaller conferences with smaller rivalries abound out East. One league reigns supreme in terms of consistent production, and that’s the Atlantic-10. This season, five bids is not only a distinct possibility, at this junction in the season, it’s almost likely.

Saturday will feature one of the game's biggest rivalries when Louisville visits Kentucky in Lexington. The two fan bases are at each other's throats for 365 days a year with the winners owning bragging rights for the following year. Expect Rick Pitino, who's been a polarizing figure in the state ever since he took the Louisville job following a tough time with the Celtics which was preceded by an outstanding run in Lexington, to get an earful at Rupp Arena.

Sunday turned out to be a very good day for the Atlantic 10 and that all began with a Big 5 showdown at the Liacouras Center between third-ranked Villanova and Temple. It's always been said that you never know what to expect from a Big 5 meeting and the Owls showed just that in their 75-65 win over the Wildcats in front of a frenzied crowd. Juan Fernandez put on a show for Fran Dunphy's club, scoring a game-high 33 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field (7-of-9 from three).