City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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The official tip-off for the Adam Fisher era at Temple has been announced. The Owls’ men’s basketball team released its 2023-24 non-conference schedule on Wednesday night, setting the date for Fisher’s first game on the sidelines at Temple — Mon., Nov. 6 against Maryland Eastern Shore at the Liacouras Center.

Fisher takes over a new-look group after rebuilding the roster this summer. The Owls entered last season under Aaron McKie with a team thought talented enough to compete for an NCAA Tournament berth but an opening night loss to Wagner set the tone for a disappointing campaign. Led by top returners Hysier Miller (8.6 ppg, 3.8 apg) and Jahlil White (5.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg), five transfers and a few other returning players Fisher hopes will emerge, Temple will look to get off to a better start this season against UMES, which took down the Owls 86-78 last season.

The season opener is followed by a Nov. 10 road trip to Navy for the Veterans Classic. The Owls travel to the Daskalakis Athletic Center on Nov. 14 for a Big 5 game against Drexel — the Dragons’ first home game as part of the city series. The teams have met four times since 2017, including a 73-61 Temple win last season, which improved the Owls record to 22-3 all-time. 

After the Drexel game, Fisher’s squad has a three-game homestand starting with Columbia (Nov. 18) and Ole Miss (Nov. 22) — a 63-55 winner in Oxfor, Miss. last season. Temple concludes its Big 5 schedule at home against La Salle on Nov. 29, followed by the inaugural Big 5 doubleheader at the Wells Fargo Center on Dec. 2.

The Owls follow with a Dec. 6 home game against D-II Bloomsburg — the team’s last home game of the non-conference schedule — then travel to the Barclays Center for the NABC Brooklyn Showcase against Albany. Fordham vs. North Texas, Miami (Fla.) vs. Colorado and St. John’s vs. Boston College are the other three matchups in the quadruple header.

Temple heads to VCU on Dec. 16 after knocking off the Rams, 83-73, in the Liacouras Center last season. VCU is one of just two NCAA Tournament teams on the non-conference slate. 

The Owls wrap up their non-conference schedule with three games (Dec. 21, 22 and 24) in Honolulu, Hawaii for the Diamond Head Classic beginning against Nevada. They play TCU or Old Dominion in the second game of the tournament, while Georgia Tech, Hawaii, UMass and Portland make up the other side of the bracket. The Wolfpack are the second returning NCAA Tournament team on the Owls’ non-conference slate.

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2023-24 Temple MBB Non-Conference Schedule
All game times TBD unless noted; bold games are home. Last year’s record in parenthesis

* = Big 5 Contest; #= Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu, Hawaii)

Mon., Nov. 6 vs. Maryland Eastern Shore (18-13, 9-5 MEAC)
Fri., Nov. 10 @ Navy (18-13, 11-7 Patriot)
*Tues., Nov. 14 @ Drexel (17-15, 10-8 CAA)
Sat., Nov. 18 vs. Columbia (7-22, 2-12 Ivy)
Wed., Nov. 22 vs. Ole Miss (12-21, 3-15 SEC)
*Thurs., Nov. 29 vs. La Salle (15-19, 7-11 Atlantic 10)

*Sat., Dec. 2 vs. TBD/Big 5 Classic
         Wells Fargo Center   
Wed., Dec. 6 vs. Bloomsburg
Sun., Dec. 10 vs. Albany, 7 p.m. (8-23, 3-13 America East)
Barclays Center
Sat., Dec. 16 @ VCU (27-8, 15-3 Atlantic 10)
#Thurs., Dec. 21 vs. Nevada (22-11, 12-6 Mountain West)
#Fri., Dec. 22 vs. Old Dominion or TCU/Diamond Head Classic
#Sat., Dec. 24, vs. TBD/Diamond Head Classic