A year ago, the Temple basketball team being snubbed by the NCAA tournament committee on Selection Sunday turned out to be the biggest surprise of the day.
The Owls took that snub personally to earn a surprise of their own on Sunday — the American Athletic Conference outright regular season title — and that should be more than enough to make them a lock for this year’s NCAA field of 68, even if they stub their toes in the AAC tournament this week. The Owls were picked for sixth; they finished first, and that probably means a second-straight Coach of the Year Award for Fran Dunphy.