Temple's NCAA hopes take another hit

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Temple couldn't mount a big enough comeback to erase a 16-point deficit at Dayton today, losing 70-65. The box score can be found here and recaps are here and here.

The Owls now finds themselves right where they didn't want to be — needing to deliver a stellar performance in the Atlantic 10 tournament to have a fighting shot at an at-large NCAA berth. The good news is that they remain in fourth place in the standings for now, with a conference record of 9-5; holding on to that position will earn them a first-round bye in Atlantic City.

Temple leads fifth-place Duquesne by a half-game and St. Louis by a full game. Duquesne has a 3:30 p.m. home contest with second-place Rhode Island tomorrow, and the Dukes and St. Louis have a date on Wednesday evening in Pittsburgh.

Yes, Villanova's upset loss to Georgetown will get more play on SportsCenter tonight, but the Owls' defeat is far, far more significant to the postseason prospects of the Big 5. After somehow sneaking three teams in to the Tournament last year, Villanova could be Philadelphia's lone representative this time.

Then again, that's exactly what I thought a year ago, and look what happened.