City of Basketball Love

Aron Minkoff (@AronMinkoff)
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Temple faced its third top-25 within the first four games of the season and played well enough to hang in the game, but ultimately succumbed to the size and depth of 16th ranked Utah, 72-66. The Owls leave the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Tournament 1-2, although their record easily could have been the other way around.

At First…
Neither team could figure out how to get the ball in the hoop, combining to shoot 8-29 from 3-point range in the first half. The real difference maker in the first half was Utah center Jakob Poeltl. Poeltl recorded 17 points and five rebounds. The big man was an absolute menace to the Owls who could not find an answer to stopping him early on. Temple’s two starting big men, Obi Enechionyia and Jaylen Bond found themselves in early foul trouble leading to limited minutes for the pair.

Turning Point…
With 3:06 remaining in the game, Temple freshman Levan Alston Jr. connected on a three-pointer to give the Owls a 64-63 lead, their first of the half. It would go back and forth the rest of the way before Taylor hit a contested shot from the corner with a foot on the line to give Utah the two-point lead. After Josh Brown was called for a flagrant foul, Poeltl iced Temple with a pair of free throws before connecting on two more after a quick Temple foul to seal the six-point victory for the Utes.

Standout Stars…
As expected, seven-foot tall Poeltl created matchup nightmares for the Owls, who struggled to put a body on him all night. He finished the evening with 32 points to along with 11 rebounds. His large size caused Temple’s Bond to miss most of the game with foul trouble. Bond picked up his third and fourth fouls about 32 seconds apart from each other with 16 minutes remaining in the second half. Both Bond and Enechionyia fouled out of the game Sunday after only playing limited minutes while suffering from foul trouble all game.

The Owls played right into Utah’s game plan, allowing the Utes to pound the ball inside to their seven-footer and getting their own bigs into foul trouble.

Noteworthy Numbers…
Without Bond, the Owls struggled to get any sort of inside game going and were outrebounded 42-35. The margin does not tell the full story though, Temple was bullied in the paint and on the glass all night, it is a wonder how the margin is only seven. This stat makes it all the more impressive that Temple only lost by six points.

Up Next...
Temple (1-3) vs. Delaware (Nov. 29, 5:00 PM)
Utah (3-1) vs. Idaho State (Nov. 27, 9:00 PM)