This tourney result won't define Owls' Fran Dunphy

NEW YORK - If this sounds like an obituary for a man who is only in ICU, apologies. The bedside manner might need work, but, frankly, the prognosis for Fran Dunphy is not good.His Temple Owls, a No. 10 seed, on Friday face No. 7 Iowa, a team that was ranked third in the country in January. If the Owls win, they probably will meet Villanova, formerly ranked No. 1 in the country, now a No. 2 seed here in Brooklyn.

Dunphy is 3-15 in the NCAA Tournament. Most likely, he will be 3-16 by sundown Friday; if not, then surely 4-16 by Sunday night.

Iowa, now ranked 25th, is coached by La Salle High and Penn product Fran McCaffery. It is fueled by four seniors ravenous to redeem themselves from a 2-6 stretch run that cost them a top-four seed; a team hardened by trips to the tournament the past two seasons that left them 1-2 and eager to dance longer. Temple, excluded, watched them. Iowa peaked early, wore down as the Big Ten heated up, but is well-rested and well-fortified.

So, there's the prediction. Now, for the point:

If Dunphy falls to 3-16, it should no more define him than whether or not he grows his Wild West mustache back (which he should do).

"When I used to walk my dog, I would think about it all the time," Dunphy said.

The dog never got kicked, which helps explain the man and his grasp of proper perspective.

Dunphy took nine teams from the University of Pennsylvania to the tourney, but being the best in the Ivy League is kind of like being a kickball champion going to the major leagues. So, nine of his 15 NCAA losses came at Penn, but then so did one of the wins, which is kind of like that kickball kid hitting a homer off Nolan Ryan.

That leaves Dunphy 2-6 at Temple. That also means Dunphy went to the NCAA Tournament six times in his first nine seasons at Temple, which further means he resurrected a program that hadn't gone in six years.

Other issues have impeded success to the degree enjoyed by his predecessor, John Chaney. Dunphy landed at Temple in 2006. Guess what else came about in 2006? The one-and-done rule.

Suddenly, powerhouses such as Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina and, eventually, Duke became even more attractive for recruits. Their logic: The best way to prepare and market oneself for the NBA was to play for the most famous coaches against the most talented competition to maximize exposure. The harsher reality for programs such as Temple was that, while the bluest chips went to the poshest programs, so did many second-tier players, riding their coattails to maximize their exposure, too.

Given those realities, what Dunphy has done is more remarkable than lamentable. He won an NCAA Tournament game in 1994 with Penn, where, had he stayed, he surely would have passed Pete Carril, who left Princeton with 514 wins, an Ivy record. Dunphy now has 524. Carril was 4-11 in the tourney. Carril is in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Dunphy accepts his legacy.

"Well, we haven't had great success, no question about it," Dunphy said. "We haven't been wearing white shirts too many of those years, either, but that's the way life goes."

The "white shirts" line means his teams usually played higher seeds, who typically wear home whites. His critics point to losses as a No. 5 seed to No. 12 seeds Cornell and South Florida in 2010 and 2013, respectively. Don't be fooled. From 2008-14, 13 other 12s beat 5s. Twelves tend to be pretty good teams from very good conferences, such as South Florida, or maybe excellent teams from lesser conferences, such as Cornell. Yale beat Baylor and Arkansas Little Rock beat Purdue on Thursday. It's not that big of an upset.

It doesn't make it any less upsetting.

"Would I like to have more wins as a basketball coach in the NCAA? Sure," Dunphy said. "I'd like to reverse the number, but that's not what life has presented to me."

Life isn't fair. Still, to associate Dunphy with a number such as 3-15 is abhorrent.

Isn't it?

"Oh, I think it's fair," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "Because nationally you don't get to . . . look, people in Texas and California, they don't get to see us coach every day. What do they see? They see you in the NCAA Tournament. What do you do? So that's your national perspective. I think that's fair.

"If you ask anybody in Philadelphia, they'd say Fran Dunphy is one of the best college basketball coaches in the country, based on what they see him do every day. It's just reality, and I do think it's fair."

Wright was speaking to his own tourney issues, as well as Dunphy's. The Wildcats have been bounced in their second game the past two seasons, last year as a top seed, the year before as a No. 2. Wright has much more pressure than Dunphy, who lived on the bubble all season.

Dunphy doesn't seem to sweat it.

"I think, when we sign the papers to be head coaches in this world, we know what the pressures are," Dunphy said.

The pressure this year:

Beat a regrouped powerhouse full of hungry, experienced players, led by one of the better coaches the Philadelphia area has produced. Then, most likely, do it again Sunday against the same type of team.

Look, that 16th loss is coming, sooner than later. Just don't make too much of it.

@inkstainedretch