Temple gets a big challenge right from the start

TEMPLE'S basketball team has a decent amount back from the one that won 26 times last season. And it's added some promising newcomers. Still, you probably could make the case that the Owls are flying at least a bit under many radar screens.

Eight months ago, they were considered to be the most deserving team that didn't make the NCAA Tournament. Now they're picked to finish sixth in the 10-team American Conference, after tying for third and getting to the NIT semifinals.

The Owls must replace lead guard Will Cummings and wing man Jesse Morgan, two of their three top scorers. Yet the goal remains the same: to hear their name called on Selection Sunday for the first time since 2013.

"I think that's how we're measured," coach Fran Dunphy, who made the only field that matters six straight years before that, said Monday at the program's practice facility. "Then once you get there, that's a whole other set of measurements.

"We thought we should have been in. Well, we weren't. We didn't do enough. We needed to win another game. I think we had all our excorcisms last year. It's over and done with. This is a whole new group, with a whole new opportunity. We're thinking about this year."

The journey starts Friday night in Annapolis, Md., against top-ranked North Carolina in the first game of the Veterans Classic doubleheader. Then they go to the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, where they could play some good teams. They also go to Wisconsin in early December. And host Villanova in mid-February. Not to mention all those conference encounters with SMU, Connecticut, Cincinnati and Memphis.

The Owls have beaten a ranked opponent each of the last eight seasons. Even when they went 9-22 in 2013-14. The last time they beat a No. 1 was 2000, at Cincinnati, when John Chaney's team was ranked 15th. They've had six chances since then, five against Duke and another against Kansas.

The Tar Heels will be without injured point guard Marcus Paige (broken hand), the preseason co-player of the year in the Atlantic Coast Conference. But they're, of course, atop the early polls for a reason.

"It's a tremendous challenge," said Dunphy, who's never backed away from any. "I think that's what you want. It's what we advertise when we recruit. We want to play the best. When CBS comes to you a while back and asks if you would like to open against North Carolina at the Naval Academy in the Veterans Classic, you say absolutely."

The Owls could wind up having a 10-man rotation. Junior Josh Brown, who's played his share of meaningful minutes, will take over for Cummings. Senior Quenton DeCosey, who averaged 12.3 points, will be asked to do even more. Senior forward Jaylen Bond, the captain, already does a lot and is the leader. Senior guard Devin Coleman and forwards Obi Enechionyia, Devontae Watson, Mark Williams and Daniel Dingle (now two years removed from a knee injury) all figure to contribute to one degree or another. As do freshmen Trey Lowe, Shawn Alston and 6-10 Ernest Aflakpui (who missed last season at Archbishop Carroll with a knee injury).

"We still have a couple of question marks," Dunphy conceded.

They also have potential. And his teams usually get better as the Madness approaches.

"I mean, it (lack of attention) happens," said Bond, a defensive linchpin. "We don't pay that much attention to what we can't control. That's working hard every day. We feel like we can compete with any team in the country."

Added DeCosey: "I think we'll be fine, as long as we play together. Not making it last year definitely gives us a lot of motivation coming into this season. Most of us stayed around this summer. We just have to play with a chip on our shoulders."

And maybe not leave it up to the Selection Committee this time.