Temple G Will Cummings went off for 30 points to lift Temple past a pesky Bucknell team and advance in the NIT.
 
The Owls downed the Bisons 73-67 in Philadelphia to move on to the second round of the NIT. Cummings was 9-of-14 from the floor for 30 points with seven rebounds. G Quenton DeCosey added 13 points and seven rebounds, while G Josh Brown chipped in 11 for Temple, which improved to 24-10. The Owls advance to face George Washington Sunday at 11 a.m.
 
UConn ended its season with a 68-61 defeat at the hands of Arizona State in NIT play at Gampel Pavilion. G Rodney Purvis had a team-high 19 points for the Huskies, who closed out the year at 20-15. G/F Daniel Hamilton had 16 points and seven rebounds while G Terrence Samuel added 10 points and six assists.
 
The two teams from The American in the NCAA tournament begin play Thursday.
 
SMU, the No. 6 seed in the South region, will face No. 11 seed UCLA in Louisville (3:10 p.m., TruTV). Thursday marks the Mustangs’ first NCAA tournament game since 1993. SMU will look for its first win in the round of 64 since 1988, when the Mustangs downed Notre Dame 83-75. The Mustangs will battle for the opportunity to play the winner of No. 3 Iowa State and No. 14 UAB Saturday.
 
Cincinnati is the No. 8 seed in the Midwest region and will face No. 9 seed Purdue (7:10 p.m., CBS). It is the fifth consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament for the Bearcats. The game will be played at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, just a 90-minute drive from Cincinnati’s campus. With a win, the Bearcats will face the winner of No. 1 overall seed Kentucky and No. 16 Hampton Saturday.