After receiving a bye as the top seed, Temple will face UMass on Friday afternoon for the right to advance into the Atlantic 10 Tournament Semifinals.
The Minutemen (21-10, 9-7) need to make a run. With 21 wins, it wouldn’t be impossible to earn an at-large bid if they do well but fall short in the A-10 Tournament. However, a loss to Temple would doom any dreams of dancing in the NCAA Tournament.
As for the Owls (24-6, 13-3), they enter the tournament simply to improve their seeding for March Madness. Temple is No. 24 in the polls, so unlike many teams it can rest easy about grabbing a bid. With that said, the Owls would love the highest seed possible with some legitimate momentum behind them.
In the only previous contest between the two teams this year, the Owls were able to best UMass with a 90-88 overtime win at home on Feb. 29th.
Khalif Wyatt and Chaz Williams were dueling stars that day. Wyatt scored 26 points while dishing out six assists and collecting four rebounds. Williams matched him with 26 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists of his own.
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
TV: CBS Sports Network