Owls Bracing For Brown, SMU
By Ed Benkin
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Temple Owls will be looking to bounce back from a difficult loss. Larry Brown will be standing in their way.
Temple is back home Wednesday Night to face SMU. The Mustangs have enjoyed a rebirth under Brown, and will come to town with a record of 12-4. Owls Coach Fran Dunphy knows his team will have its hands full as he goes against one of basketball's most successful coaches.
"I have the utmost respect for the coach and the man," said Dunphy. "That will always be the case whether I'm coaching against him or not. He's a good man and a great basketball guy and someone that is very respectful of everyone in the game."
The Owls had won six in a row before being tripped up by Tulsa last Saturday. The last few days of practice for Temple have served as an opportunity to put the loss to the Golden Hurricane in the rear-view mirror.
"We're not loving each other at this moment," Dunphy Joked. "It was a tough loss we had. We have to get over it. We have to move on and we've got a great game in front of us."
The Mustangs have won ten of their last eleven games and will present a tough test for Temple. Brown's squad has three players who average double figures in scoring. Another standout who has contributed for SMU is former Villanova player Markus Kennedy, who transferred from the Main Line to play for Brown.
"They're really good," said Dunphy. "They're deep. They're talented. They're obviously very well coached. You get a kid like Markus Kennedy who's a local guy. Now, he's really starting to find his form. It's a formidable task we're up against."
The 12-5 Owls are hoping to have Guard Will Cummings back in the lineup on Wednesday. Cummings suffered a strained leg muscle on Saturday and left the game in the second half.
"He hasn't practiced yet," Dunphy said. "It's probably a game-time decision. The trainers and doctors will tell us, and Will will tell us how he feels."
Tipoff on Wednesday will be at 7pm.
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