CSJ NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament First Four Preview: Belmont vs. Temple, How To Watch and Fearless Prediction

On By Jamie Williams

#11 Belmont vs. #11 Temple

When: Tuesday, March 19, 9:10 PM (approx)

Where: UD Arena, Dayton, Ohio
TV/Streaming: truTV, March Madness Live

Belmont Bruins (26-5, 16-2)

Nashville, Tennessee
Ohio Valley Conference
Head Coach: Rick Byrd, (34th Season at Belmont 694-343)
Enrollment: 5933
Sagarin Rating: 60

Scouting Report: Belmont won the regular season Ohio Valley championship on the heels of a 16-2 conference record, with both losses coming to Jacksonville State. The Bruins made it to the final of the OVC tournament before falling to Ja Morant and Murray State 77-65. The loss put the Bruins firmly on the bubble but heard their name called to participate in a First Four matchup against Temple. The Bruins Sagaragin Rating of 60 and non conference win at UCLA got them in over some other bubble teams. The #11 seed matches the highest seeding in tournament history for the Bruins

Belmont Projected Starters

No. Player Pos. Cl. Ht./Wt. PPG/RPG/APG/Note

2 Grayson Murphy G FR 6-2/175 9.8/4.5/6.6/Started all 31games as a Freshman

3 Dylan Windler G/F SR 6-8/200 21.4/10.7/2.6/First Team All OVC

10 Caleb Hollander F FR 6-8/225 7.0/4.5/.7/Fought injury all year

11 Kevin McClain G SR 6-3/190 16.3/3.5/4.1/ Notched 27pts/12reb vs. EKY

33 Nick Muszynski C FR 6-11/235 14.9/5.9/2.6/ Missed OVC title game due to injury

Key Player: With Freshman center Nick Musynski’s status up in the air, senior Dylan Windler will have to carry the load for the Bruins to beat Temple. Windler averaged a double-double over the season, so he should be no stranger to being the focal point of an opponents defense.

Fantasy Player: Freshman Grayson Murphy will be looking to have a breakout game in the NCAA tournament. He average 9.8 points and 6.6 assists for the season. Look for him to notch at least 15 points and get close to double digit assists, while adding about five rebounds.

Temple Owls (23-9, 13-5)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
American Athletic Conference
Head Coach: Fran Dunphy (13th year at Temple 270-161; 580-324 overall)
Enrollment: 27,983
Sagarin: 68

Scouting Report: With the AAC down overall this season, the Owls had to sweat our selection Sunday. They 13-5 record was enough to get them in despite losing in the quarterfinal of the conference tournament. The Owls are a guard heavy team, led by Shizz Alston and Quinton Rose. A team with size will give the Owls fits in the tournament. They enter the first four matchup on Tuesday looking to earn a date in the second round with Maryland.

Temple Projected Starters

No. Player Pos. Cl. Ht./Wt. PPG/RPG/APG/Note

1 Quinton Rose G JR 6-8/185 16.5/3.8/2.5/Season high 29 points vs. Tulane

10 Shizz Alston JR G SR 6-4/180 19.8/2.7/5.0/First Team All-AAC

15 Nate Pierre-Louis G SO 6-4/170 13.7/5.7/2.0/Double figures in 18 of last 21 fames

22 De’Vondre Perry F SO 6-7/220 4.3/3.3/1.0/Held scoreless in 2 of last 4 games

24 Earnest Aflakpiu C SR 6-10/240 5.9/7.0/0.4/Leads team in FG% at 59.6%

 

Key Player: Shizz Alston, Jr is the Owls’ leading scorer and top assist man. The Owls will look to push the pace with their guard heavy lineup and Alston is the straw that stirs the drink for the offense.

Fantasy Player: Alston has the ball in his hand on offense. Look for him to top 20 points and get close to 10 assists. Alston is a senior and is not ready for his collegiate career to end yet.

Fearless Prediction: This is a hard game to predict with Belmont potentially not having Muszynski. If he plays Bemont will have a great chance here. Without him Temple will be able to control the game. Even if he plays will Musynski be 100%? Probably not. Lets go with the healthy team. Temple 79, Belmont 68

 

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