College Basketball: Local Teams In The NCAA Tournament
Men's
TEMPLE - Temple opens play in the Tournament this afternoon (Thursday). The Owls are the 7-seed in the West and their first round opponent is Penn State out of the Big Ten. The Owls are 25-7 heading into the tournament and looking for their first tourney win since they defeated Penn State in the Sweet 16 back in 2001. Owls hoping to get swingman Scootie Randall back for the tournament, he's missed several games with a bad foot. Owls Head Coach Fran Dunphy hoping to improve on a 1-12 record as a Head Coach in the NCAA Tournament.
VILLANOVA - Jay Wright's Wildcats earned the 9-seed in the East region despite entering the tournament on a five game losing streak and despite losing 10 of 15 since a 16-1 start. The Wildcats will take on George Mason in the first round on Friday afternoon in Cleveland. Wildcats had been banged up down the stretch, but a quick exit from the Big East Tournament may actually turn out to be a positive as it has given them a lot of extra rest. Villanova is in the tournament for a 7th straight season. Last season the Wildcats were bounced in the 2nd round by St. Mary's (CA).
Women's
TEMPLE -- The Owls picked up an at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament, and Tonya Cardoza's Owls are a 10-seed in the Dayton Region. They will open play on Saturday against 7-seed Arizona State in Salt Lake City, Utah. This will be the eighth straight NCAA Tournament appearance for the Owls, who bring a 23-8 record into the postseason. Temple lost in the semifinals of the Atlantic-10 Tournament to Dayton. Arizona State was upset by Cal in the quarterfinals of the Pac-10 Tourney. They are 20-10 coming in.
