ODJ: Riding High

A short time ago, the Temple women’s basketball season appeared to be in terrible shape. Following four straight losses, including their Atlantic 10 opener at Dayton, the Owls were 7-10 and headed nowhere. Three weeks – and one six-game win streak – later, everything has changed.

The Owls set another Big 5 record with a 60-55 victory at La Salle on Saturday. They stretched their City Series win streak to 18 straight games and clinched their fourth consecutive Big 5 title. That had never happened before.

More importantly, Coach Dawn Staley’s squad improved its overall record to 13-10, and kept its share of first place with a 6-1 mark in A-10 play. Quite suddenly, the Owls are back in position to gain their fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament bid – if they take care of business in February.

This is the big week.

On Wednesday, the Owls will host Charlotte, which was tied with Temple, George Washington, and Xavier at the top of the A-10 standings as of Saturday morning. Next Saturday, Temple will visit Xavier.

Win both and the Owls would be in terrific shape. They’ve already beaten GW, the league’s only sure thing for the NCAA Tournament. Split the next two and the Owls would have little room for further error – but the only tough game in the last five is a short trip to Saint Joseph’s.

The A-10 appears likely to earn two or three NCAA bids this year. GW was 20th in the RPI on Saturday morning. Xavier was 50th, with quality non-conference wins over Penn State, Georgia, and North Carolina State. Temple was 57th, with notable wins over Purdue and GW. Charlotte (62nd) lacks a big win on its resume.

What about Dayton? Since beating Temple, part of a school-record 16-game win streak, the Flyers (77th) have lost three out of five. They’ve got a lot of ground to make up in the A-10 standings.

As usual, the Owls are at the top. And it’s starting to look like Temple could find its usual spot in the NCAA Tournament.