Dunphy could have added something else that could play into the Rams' favor: They will play out of desperation because they need to burnish their resume if they are to qualify as an at-large pick in the NCAA tourney.
The Owls are in. Sure, they've got their motives - a third straight A-10 championship. Perhaps a more favorable seeding in the NCAAs.
Of course, coaches don't like to deal in such speculation, especially coaches like Dunphy. All he sees ahead is Rhode Island.
"They don't have any weaknesses," he said. "They're tough to match up against. Very athletic. Very long."
The Rams (23-8) went into a bit of a late-season slide. Their defense buckled too frequently, a main reason they'd lost five of eight before yesterday's impressive 63-47 win over St. Louis.
In that game, Rhody did what it does best, taking the methodical Billikens (20-11) out of their comfort zone with full-court-pressure defense.
The offense feeds off the turnovers the defense creates. Yesterday, the Rams outscored St. Louis by 20-5 off turnovers. That was pretty much the margin of victory.
The problem for Rhody is few teams take care of the ball as well as the 17th-ranked Owls (27-5), who went into yesterday's 69-51 rout of St. Bonaventure 12th in the nation in fewest turnovers a game (10.7).
Against the Bonnies, Temple had seven turnovers. Three were by MichealCQ Eric. Three others were team turnovers. Guards Juan Fernandez, Ryan Brooks and Luis Guzman played 37, 34 and 37 minutes respectively. Combined number of turnovers: zero. If Rhody feeds off turnovers, it could starve against the Owls.
After the Rams beat St. Louis, coach Jim Baron suggested his team had done enough to warrant an at-large berth. He made a good point when he talked about the strength of the A-10 this season. He reminded everyone of the Jan. 2 win over Oklahoma State. He cited an early-season win over Boston College. But that's been devalued because the Eagles had a poor season. And he noted that St. Louis is a 20-win team.
But in his heart, Baron has to know his team must defeat Temple today. If he doesn't, he should probably listen to Dunphy's pregame message to the Owls.
Xavier 78, Dayton 73 - The No. 24 Musketeers rallied from a 15-point deficit in the final 10 minutes to defeat the Flyers.
Richmond 77, Massachusetts 72 - The Spiders held off a frantic late rally by the Minutemen to advance.
Contact staff writer Ray Parrillo at 215-854-2743 or rparrillo@phillynews.com.
This article contains information from the Associated Press.
