Tough Temple team awaits UNLV
UNLV fans have hoped for a Coaches vs. Cancer Classic championship game matchup with Duke ever since the bracket was released.
The Rebels will instead take on Temple in Saturday night’s consolation game at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
After all the difficulty UNLV had with Stanford on Friday night, it’s probably fortunate the Rebels will not be playing a top-10 opponent like the Blue Devils.
Not that Temple is an easy draw.
The Owls hung with Duke for a half before the game got away a bit in the second half of Friday night’s 74-54 affair.
It was the first loss of the season for Temple after wins over American and Louisiana Tech.
Will Cummings, the leading returning scorer for Temple, led the way with 18 points in the loss to Duke. He is the unquestioned top scoring threat for Fran Dunphy’s team.
Cummings did struggle against pressure, however, as he turned the ball over eight times against Duke.
The senior point guard does appear to have more help than last year, when he guided a team that finished just 9-22.
His backup, Josh Brown, appears to have taken a big step up between his freshman and sophomore season. Quenton DeCosey scored 15 points per game last season in 36 minutes per contest and is once again providing valuable minutes.
They have help from Texas transfer Jaylen Bond, though he has struggled to adjust to Dunphy’s system early in the season.
The Owls had averaged more than 25 wins per season over the four years prior to last season’s debacle. They hope to return to prominence this year and a win over a UNLV program searching for an identity would help build confidence early in the season.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.
