(1) Temple 56, (3) Richmond 52

 

Temple finished off the Atlantic 10 Tournament in style, playing 40 minutes of stifling man-to-man defense to beat Richmond in a rough-and-tumble affair and claim a double championship (regular season and tournament) in Atlantic City, N.J.  As they did in their quarterfinal and semifinal victories, the Owls led from buzzer to buzzer, and survived a late push from the Spiders by making freebies in the final minutes.  Senior wing Ryan Brooks was particularly clutch in the final minute, knocking down all four of his free throw attempts in the final 50 seconds. 

The Big Picture:   Matched up against Richmond's Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalvez - which might very well be the best backcourt in the country - Brooks and Juan Fernandez struggled at times. Temple’s guards combined for 6 turnovers and only 2 dimes, but they kept their composure, making key shots all game.  Both players were 4-of-4 from the charity stripe, and Fernandez paced the Owls with 18 points. More importantly from Fran Dunphy's perspective, his guards played ferocious defense all game, and they forced Anderson into his worst shooting day in eons. 

The Good:   There's torture, like waterboarding or having to listen to Nickelback, and then there's the type of torture Temple inflicts: 40 minutes of grinding in-your-grill defense.  The Spiders had scored 89, 77, and 89 points in their last three games heading into today's A-10 final.  Teams just don't score like that versus the Owls, and the Spiders didn't today.  Temple forced Richmond, one of the better three-point shooting teams in all of college hoops, into 5-of-19 shooting from three this afternoon.  The Spiders had hit 12, 11, and 8 triples in their last three games.