FORT WORTH, TX – Temple Men’s Basketball faced a rocky season to say the very least. The Owls started and ended the regular season strong but endured a historic losing streak and battled nagging injuries all year, leading to a 12-19 record.
The team ended the season as the 11th seed in the American Athletic Conference tournament thanks to guard Hysier Miller’s game-winner against UTSA on March 10. The Owls face the Roadrunners again, just three days later in the first round of the postseason tournament.
Despite its struggles, Temple’s now has a clean slate. They have a tough road ahead, but the Owls could be one hot streak away from their first AAC championship. First, they need to take down UTSA to win their first conference tournament game in six years. Here’s what to know before tip-off on March 13 at 3 p.m.
HEATING UP?
Temple was amid a 10-game losing skid less than a month ago and looked dead in the water halfway through conference play. Now, the Owls enter the first round riding high after winning four of their last six games. Two of those victories came against the Roadrunners, one on Feb 18 and later with Miller’s game-winner.
The team found its stride when the offensive side of the ball found some consistency. Temple racked up 70 or more points in four of its final six games and won three of those contests.
The Owls have shot at least 40 percent from the field in all but one of their final eight games since losing to Memphis on Feb. 8. The tandem of Miller and Jordan Riley have spearheaded Temple’s offense. The pair lead the Owls in scoring this season, and Riley’s emergence as a scorer took the load off of Miller in their recent stretch.
Guard Shane Dezonie heated up at the right time and became a reliable third option for his squad. He scored eight second-half points to help the Owls defeat Wichita State in overtime on Feb. 25 and double-digit points in two of Temple’s last five games.
Temple’s offense has clicked lately, but the team still suffers lapses that could haunt them down the stretch of the tournament. The Owls have struggled to defend against more athletic teams including UAB on March 7.
The Blazers bullied the Owls on the boards to the tune of a 41-19 rebound advantage. Temple scored 72 points that game but couldn’t contain a UAB squad that put up 100 points, the most Temple has given up all year.
If the Owls’ offense can click the way it has for the last month, they can advance to the quarterfinals, but they need to keep up with UTSA’s explosive attack as well.
ON UTSA
The Roadrunners also had their fair share of struggles throughout conference play, as their 5-13 conference record left them as the bottom seed entering the tournament. However, they’ve found some momentum down the stretch as three of their five conference wins came in the final four games of the regular season.
UTSA turned a corner in the final two weeks, picking up three straight wins against tough opponents with seventh-seed North Texas, sixth-seed Tulsa and ninth-seed SMU. The Roadrunners were playing their best basketball to close out the regular season despite falling to Temple in its final game.
Guard Jordan Ivy-Curry leads UTSA’s offense, as he finished fifth in the AAC in scoring with 18 points per game. Ivy-Curry averaged 14 points against Temple in their previous two games, but the Owls limited him to just six points in 18 minutes in the regular-season finale.
Ivy-Curry is an explosive player and hard to stop when in rhythm, but he struggles at times with consistency. He’s had 10 games this season with 20 or more points, but he’s also had five games with less than 10 points. The Roadrunners lost four of the five games in which he scored less than 10 points.
The Owls need to limit Ivy-Curry and make other UTSA players beat them to find success in Fort Worth.
UTSA finished the season fourth in the conference in scoring offense but didn’t score efficiently, averaging nearly 80 points per game against AAC opponents. The Roadrunners finished second-to-last in the conference in field goal percentage, averaging 41 percent from the field. Temple was the only other team to shoot less efficiently.
The Owls and Roadrunners are in for a hard-fought battle, and neither team holds a significant advantage against the other. However, both teams have something to prove, as this marks UTSA’s first AAC tournament since joining the conference.
SPOILER ALERT
Declan Landis, Sports Editor: “Temple has a lot of momentum and not a lot of pressure. The biggest takeaway of this tournament will be giving the Owls’ younger talent experience in a tournament format. However, Temple found a way to beat UTSA and could pull off the victory at Dickies Arena.
The Owls need to play strong defense and find some level of consistency against the Roadrunners to move to the second round. The Roadrunners have too many scoring options and experience, and they will be moving on to the next round in what should be a close battle.”
UTSA wins 75-68.
Johnny Zawislak, Assistant Sports Editor: “Temple played some of its best basketball in the final three weeks of the season after things looked extremely bleak throughout conference play. However, USTA has also found momentum to close out the season and did so against some of the better teams in the conference.
Temple has struggled this season when playing teams with top talent. Ivy-Curry is going to be the difference-maker in the game. If the Owls can limit him, they have a chance to win. However, I don’t think the Owls beat the Roadrunners three times this season.”
UTSA wins 84-75.
Ryan Mack, Assistant Sports Editor: “Temple has found a rhythm and gets some familiarity by playing a Roadrunners team that they have faced two times in a month. If the offense clicks, they could be in the clear, but the looming chance of being inconsistent makes it far from a sure thing.
When Temple has faced teams with more athletic players and top-tier talent, they have folded more times than not. If they can stop Jordan Ivy-Curry, they have a chance, but Temple’s defense has struggled as of late.”
UTSA wins 81-74.
Jaison Nieves, Sports Social Media Manager: “Temple has shown a lot of improvement from its midseason slump and has momentum on their side, which are two important things to consider.
UTSA has a potential game-changer with Ivy-Curry, but Temple’s defense will step up. Hysier Miller needs to play at a high level as a distributor, and the supporting cast of Riley, Dezonie and Stanford needs to score effectively. The Owls will get an important win early in the American Athletic Conference tournament.”
Temple wins 77-73.
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