The Owls put themselves in such an enviable position by winning their last five Atlantic 10 games after what Cardoza called a "rock bottom" loss to Massachusetts on Feb. 11. Four of those five games came against the conference's top four teams: No. 16 Xavier (ranked No. 13 at the time), Charlotte, Richmond and George Washington. The Owls are 20-8 overall, 11-3 in the conference.
"When we first started conference play, we were up and down. It was really rocky for us," Cardoza said. "After that UMass loss, we came back. We faced the top four teams in our league and were able to get five straight wins, so I'm excited about how the regular season has finished."
Sunday's 59-49 road win over George Washington gave the Owls the No. 2 seed in the A-10 Tournament, meaning they have a first-round bye and will not take the court at Halton Arena in Charlotte, N.C., until tomorrow to play the winner of tonight's No. 7 St. Bonaventure/No. 10 Saint Joseph's game. The Hawks, who finished the regular season 13-16, 5-9, will try to reach the quarterfinals for the eighth straight time under coach Cindy Griffin.
Temple defeated St. Joe's both times it faced the Hawks this season, 58-53, on Jan. 11 at Philadelphia University and 60-48 on Feb. 15 at the Liacouras Center.
But the Bonnies gave the Owls trouble, beating them, 55-52, on Jan. 24 at Olean, N.Y.
"At this time of year, all that stuff goes out the window. We'll just be prepared for either team," Cardoza said. "But I'm so excited about the tournament. It's hard for any team, no matter who you are in any conference, to win four straight games in four straight days, so to have that extra day is important. At this point in the season, people are tired."
That No. 2 seed means Temple would avoid playing either GW or Xavier again until the A-10 final on Monday.
