Temple’s Wyatt: Thumb injury won’t be a problem

Temple guard Khalif Wyatt passes the ball during practice at the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 21, 2013, in Dayton, Ohio. Temple plays North Carolina State in a second-round game Friday.

DAYTON, Ohio — Temple star guard Khalif Wyatt says his injured left thumb should not be a problem when the Owls play top-seeded Indiana in the NCAA tournament.

The Atlantic 10’s player of the year got hurt in the second half of Friday’s win over North Carolina State. He came out briefly to get his thumb taped and scored 31 points as the Owls advanced to face the Hoosiers. Wyatt said Saturday that X-rays were negative.

Owls coach Fran Dunphy expects Wyatt to be a "little tender" against Indiana on Sunday. Wyatt was checked by the team’s doctor again Saturday, and Dunphy says the senior didn’t have any trouble with his thumb during practice. Dunphy says the biggest concern is Wyatt’s ability to catch the ball, but he doesn’t think the injury "is a huge concern."

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.