City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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The most important game yet of the Adam Fisher era is two days away.

Not that he’s going to acknowledge it. 

Temple’s third-year men’s coach is like many around the country, unwilling to engage with the typical storylines about any individual game’s significance above and beyond it being the next one on the schedule. 

But make no mistake, the Owls’ road trip to play Memphis on Wednesday is a monumental opportunity for a once-dominant program that’s been spinning its wheels since the start of the decade and sliding slowly downhill for a few years before that.

Temple’s win over East Carolina this past Wednesday was its seventh in a row, running its record to 11-5 on the season and 3-0 in American Athletic Conference play. It’s the program’s first seven-game win streak since Jan. 22-Feb. 14, 2015; it hasn’t seen an eight-game win streak since 11 straight near the end of the 2011-12 season. They haven’t been 4-0 in league play since winning their first five Atlantic 10 games all the way back in January 2010. 

On top of all that, the Tigers (7-8, 2-1) are the league’s preseason favorites, coming off a 29-6 (16-2) season. Don’t let their record fool you; Penny Hardaway’s Tigers played a brutally difficult non-conference schedule that saw them take No. 11 Vanderbilt into OT while losing single-digit contests to four other high-majors, though they’re coming off an 11-point road loss at Florida Atlantic. 

All of that adds up to an opportunity to secure a win that maybe, just maybe, might actually re-open a few dormant eyes around the city, might start bringing some life back to the Liacouras Center. Not that it’s an easy task. 

“Penny does an amazing job, they had one of the toughest non-conference strength of schedules in the country, they’re battle-tested,” Fisher said. “And we know what the environment’s like there — we’ve got to prepare our guys, it gets loud, it’s chaotic, it’s an NBA arena.

“Sur league right now has become basically a one or two-bid league, so [...]  every league game is really important,” he added. “It goes in one column, it goes in the win or loss column, if you prepare differently for different opponents, I think there’s so many good teams in our league. If you change that approach, guys know it, so we’ve kinda stayed with this.”

At No. 87 in the current KenPom rankings, Memphis is the third-highest squad in the American, behind South Florida (70) and Tulsa (84). Temple is No. 145, seventh-best, its three league wins coming at Charlotte (No. 177) and at home against UTSA (333) and ECU (275). 

The Tigers feature a few names that will be familiar to area hoops fans. Bonner grad Tariq Ingraham, a 6-9 forward who’s in his seventh year of college due to early-career injuries, has played in 13 games with one start, averaging 3.9 ppg and 2.1 rpg; Camden (N.J.) product Aaron Bradshaw, a 7-0 junior center, is averaging 8.5 ppg and 3.6 rpg in 14 games (8 starts); former Temple guard Quante Berry has seen action in all 15 games, averaging 5.3 ppg.

Point guard Jordan Mason (above) has been a steadying presence on the ball for the Owls. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Memphis’ leading scorer (and only player averaging in double figures) is senior guard Dug McDaniel (14.3 ppg), a former Paul VI (Va.) grad who starred in the 7OT game against Archbishop Wood at the Diane Mosco Classic in 2019. 

Only four members of the roster have played in all 15 games. Thirteen different Tigers have started at least one game, and all of those players average double-figures minutes, though four of them only have single-digit appearances. 

They’re one of the best defensive teams in the country, allowing .99 points per possession (32nd nationally) according to KenPom, and are 21st in the country at forcing steals.

“Knowing their personnel is huge,” Fisher said. “But the big key is handling their press, handling their pressure, and that environment. [ …] They’re going to throw out a ton of pressure, we’ve got to handle their pressure with great poise, they create and force a ton of turnovers. We’ve got to be strong with the basketball, we’ve got to know that pressure’s coming and they’re flying multiple guys, in and out, in and out.

“There’s going to be a couple turnovers, it's what they do — if you’re playing a team that’s making 11 or 12 3’s a game, it’s really hard to hold them to zero,” he added. “They’re going to get a couple, it’s how do we respond? We can’t allow one to turn to three, and three to turn to six and be down in the dumps. We’ve got to be stoic, next play, we’re good.”

Limiting turnovers is, however, something these Owls are particularly good at. They’re second in the country in fewest turnovers per game (8.8) and 8th in turnover percentage (13.4%), their lowest such rate since 2005-06, the final year of the John Chaney era. 

Even though it’s a group that Fisher largely assembled this past offseason, it’s one that’s gelling. Senior point guard Jordan Mason (11.8 ppg, 4.9 apg) is the table-setter while senior guard Derrian Ford (17.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg), sophomore wing Aiden Tobiason (14.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg) and junior wing forward Gavin Griffiths (12.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg) are all enjoying their best seasons of their respective careers while all shooting 36% or better from the 3-point arc. 

Gavin Griffiths has scored 47 points in Temple's last two games. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Like Memphis, Temple has had troubles getting fully healthy. Only three Owls — Tobiason, Mason and sophomore forward Babtunde Durodola (4.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg) — have played all 16 games, though it’s mostly been relatively minor dings and dents. A week between games going into Memphis will help somewhat.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who have played through some little things,” Fisher said, “and the last couple weeks we’ve gone to more of an NBA practice style; we’ve done a lot more mental prep, and a lot more ‘hey, let’s walk through this and then let’s go live for a little bit to get a feel for this.’”

Following the trip to Memphis, Temple gets a visit on Sunday from Florida Atlantic before heading back on the road to play two much weaker Rice (Weds., Jan. 21) and UTSA (Sat., Jan. 24). If it keeps on rolling, the Owls would return to Liacouras on Jan. 28 for a game against Charlotte with a 14-5 (7-0) record. 

Maybe that would be enough to start getting fans back in the seats. 

In eight home games this year, Temple’s averaging just under 3,000 spectators/game. That number used to be much closer to the 10,000-seat capacity of the Liacouras Center, but has dwindled over the last two decades thanks to conference changes and the program’s slow decline. Temple’s now in its seventh season without an NCAA Tournament appearance, which would be the longest drought since the 1950s. 

Beating Memphis won’t get the Owls back to March Madness on its own. They're still a ways away from that, and need to win the AAC tournament to get there this year.

But it would be a crucial next step towards bringing some energy back to the program.