City of Basketball Love

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
--

Despite leading for more than three quarters of the game, Temple lost to No. 19 Cincinnati, 55-53, on a last second shot by Bearcats’ junior wing Jacob Evans.

The Owls (7-7, 0-3 American Athletic Conference) are now on a four-game losing streak and still seeking their first conference win. Here are some observations from the Owls’ loss and recent struggles:

Owls struggle down the stretch

Sure, coach Fran Dunphy picked up a late technical after his water bottle incidentally rolled onto the floor and Ernest Aflakpui was called for a somewhat questionable foul call with two seconds on the shot clock late in the game, but offensive ineptitude down the stretch was the reason Temple lost this one. Temple held a 50-43 advantage with 5:16 left in the game, which seemed like a comfortable advantage with the way Cincinnati was struggling to score. However, Temple didn’t score for nearly five minutes. The five-minute scoreless stretch featured four missed shots and two turnovers. The Owls didn’t score until sophomore guard Alani Moore II was fouled shooting a 3-point shot with 18 seconds left. By that time, Temple was trailing, 53-50. Moore knocked down the free throws to tie the game, but Evans' contested jumper made sure the offensive struggles late cost the Owls a Top 25 win.

Temple needs all Big 3 to produce

Temple has three players averaging double figures in sophomore wing Quinton Rose (15.4 ppg) junior guard Shizz Alston Jr. (14.9 ppg) and senior forward Obi Enechionyia (11.7 ppg). Those three haven’t all reached double figures in the same game since the first four games of the season, when Temple went 3-1. Since that time, the Owls have usually had to try to win with one of their stars not at his best. On Thursday, Enechionyia finished with 14 points, making 3-of-8 shots from deep. Alston scored 12 points on 50 percent shooting. Rose, however, went just 1-of-6 from the floor for two points, his lowest point total this season. During the Owls’ four-game losing streak, Enechionyia, Rose and Alston each have a game with three or fewer points. The Owls do not have enough other offensive firepower to survive against quality competition when these three aren’t all in top form.

Time is running out

Other than Temple (38), Cincinnati (42) and Wichita State (11) are the only teams from The American currently among the Ratings Percentage Index’s Top 50 teams. That means after letting a golden opportunity to pick up a marquee win on Thursday night slip away, the Owls have just three games against Top 50 teams left on the schedule. This team is starting to look more and more like last year’s squad by the day. In 2016-17, Temple grabbed victories against West Virginia and Florida State in the non-conference, but the Owls went 7-11 in The American. Their overall tournament resume was not impressive enough for the two wins to matter. This season early wins against Clemson (9) and Auburn (16) look like they might also go wasted, unless Temple can turn things around.

Owls still have tough road ahead

Three games into conference play, Temple is still looking for its first win in The American. The Owls dropped  their conference opener at home to Tulane -- which doesn’t look as bad after the Green Wave beat Southern Methodist on Thursday -- fell to Houston in a close one on the road and lost to a ranked Cincinnati team at home. None of the losses are awful, but Temple travels on the road to play Central Florida (11-4, 2-1) and Southern Methodist (12-4, 2-1) next. Temple, which has lost all four of its road games this season, combined to go 0-4 against the Knights and the Mustangs last season. The Owls could be staring at an 0-5 conference record if they don’t raise their level of play.

Expect a tight won when these two play

Temple had won three straight against Cincinnati heading into last season. The Bearcats have now grabbed three in a row against the Owls after Thursday night’s last-second win. The last five have all been decided by seven or fewer points. This game was quite similar to the 56-50 loss the Owls suffered to the Bearcats last season at the Liacouras Center. Both teams shot worse than 40 percent from the floor in that one, just as they did on Thursday night.

Pierre-Louis carving out role

Freshman guard Nate Pierre-Louis saw more than 10 minutes on the floor for the third time this season, each coming in the past three games. Pierre-Louis scored 11 points and played 22 minutes in Temple’s first two conference game. He scored six points in 12 minutes of action against Cincinnati. While his minutes are likely to fluctuate from game-to-game, it’s likely we’ll be seeing a lot more of Pierre-Louis, who appeared in just four of the Owls’ first 10 games.