I will give them eternal praise for being the deciding factor of the 2020 Presidential Election, of course.
When Temple upset #16 Villanova on Thursday night, the ending was one of the strangest you might see the entire college basketball season.
The 68-64 Owl victory was the first over Villanova since December 10, 2012. Temple would make the NCAA Tournament, but were held to just 44 points in their first round loss to South Florida. Only Colorado State’s 41 points in the first round would be fewer scored by a team at any point in the 2012 tournament.
Villanova has gone onto three Final Fours and two National Championships since 2012, while Temple only made the field of 64 twice (2013 and 2016). Their appearance in 2019 was part of the First Four, which is STILL not the actual tournament, as you are playing two days before there are four games on at the same time from noon until midnight.
With the game knotted at 64, Temple’s Damian Dunn drove the right side of the lane, drawing contact from Villanova’s Brandon Slater. Dunn hit both free throws, with just 1.1 seconds remaining on the clock. Chris Arcidiacono saw his inbound heave be intercepted by Temple’s Zach Hicks, leading several hundred Owl students to rush the floor at the Liacouras Center.
The celebration was warranted, but premature, as the officials called a foul on Villanova’s Eric Dixon with just 0.2 seconds remaining. The officials made the call to clear the court and have Hicks shoot free throws. The rule is that there has to be at least 0.3 seconds remaining for a catch and shoot. Any shot taken with under 0.3 is automatically waived off, unless the shot is a tip-in.
Hicks hit both free throws, leading the same mass of fans to storm the court a second time about three seconds later.
Storming the court or field in college sports is a time-honored tradition the NCAA is trying to get away from, out of safety to the players and coaching staff trying to get off the field. The NCAA has fined schools severely for having multiple instances in the same season, along with taking extensive steps to ensure the goal posts can no longer be ripped down in college football.
The rule of letting the final fraction of a second play out was the legal call, but completely incorrect. Villanova was not going to have a tip in and foul with 0.2 remaining, unless Jalen Hurts was the one inbounding the ball from the opposing end line. Then again Hurts would still have a year of eligibility, having left Alabama after his junior season to declare for the NFL Draft.
Dunn led all scorers with 22 points, while Dixon had 18 to lead the Wildcats, who lost for the first time under new head coach Kyle Neptune. The loss will assuredly topple Villanova outside the Top 20, if not drop out of the rankings altogether when the new polls are released Monday afternoon. Temple may get a few votes out of merit, but not enough to enter the Top 25 themselves.
Undoubtedly this was the biggest win of Aaron McKie’s four years behind the bench for Temple. His only other win against a ranked opponent was over #16 Wichita State in January of 2020. Both were ranked the same, but the Villanova win means just a little more, with the Philadelphia bragging rights that come along.
-JC24