Monday, March 06, 2000
A-10 tournament preview
Temple is team to beat
BY MICHAEL PERRY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
TEAM TO BEAT: Temple. How could it not be?
The Owls are a top-10 team and have been the most dominant in the league all season. They are playing in their hometown of Philadelphia. Their 14-2 conference record is the best in the A-10 since Marcus Camby led UMass to a 15-1 mark in 1996. Here's the catch: Temple has not won the Atlantic 10 tournament in 10 years, losing five times in the finals.
DARK HORSE: Xavier. Why, you ask? The only team to ever beat the Musketeers in the A-10 tournament is Temple, and the Owls are in the other half of the bracket.
Xavier's path to the championship game could consist of Rhode Island (5-24), St.Bonaventure and Dayton. XU owes the Bonnies and has defeated Dayton. It's not an easy road, but it's not impossible. Of course, no team has ever won four straight games and captured the title, but the Musketeers can worry about that if they get to the final.
MOST TO PROVE: St.Bonaventure sure could use one more victory to impress the NCAA selection committee. A loss will mean an anxious Selection Sunday.
TOUGHEST DRAW: George Washington. The Colonials have a first-round bye and start with the Duquesne-Massachusetts winner. Then they probably would face Temple in the semifinals. That's not the position you want to be in. The Owls beat GW by 31 points Saturday.
WEAKEST DRAW: Temple. The Owls start with the Virginia Tech-Fordham winner, then play George Washington if seeding holds. The only A-10 teams to beat Temple this season — St. Bonaventure and St.Joseph's — are on the other side of the bracket.
MOST LIKELY MVP: Mark Karcher, Temple. Point guard Pepe Sanchez racks up the assists, but who do you think is making the baskets?
PLAYER ON THE SPOT: Maurice McAfee. Xavier's only true point guard averages 35.3 minutes a game. How he holds up physically and mentally playing day after day could determine how far the Musketeers can go.
A-10 tournament schedule
Xavier Stories
Mitchell deal expected today
Real star of Reds is Bowden
Griffey downplays first homer
Reds' aces stack up well
New sliding style challenges Reese
Reds ship 9 to minor-league camp
Sunday's games report
UC returns to No. 1 in polls
C-USA tournament preview
C-USA tournament schedule
Miami upsets top-seeded BG
MIAMI NOTEBOOK
Marshall 58, Central Michigan 56
SEC tournament preview
SEC tournament schedule
Big Ten tournament preview
Big Ten tournament schedule
Both NKU teams make tournament
Cincinnati basketball update
Cincinnati boys basketball schedule
Cincinnati girls basketball schedule
N.Ky. boys basketball schedule
N.Ky. girls tournament update
Mighty Ducks grow at Gardens
Stuff 104, Trenton 91
SEASON IN STORIES
