(PHOTO RECEIVED FROM Zamani Feelings)
(PHILADELPHIA, PA) Temple went home with a vengeance to finish off their media-defying season after a disturbing loss to Houston. The previous meeting against USF ended in a low-scoring three-point loss. Coach McKie wasn’t going to let that happen on Senior night. Even with Jeremiah Williams out with injury, the Owls prided themselves on defense and ball movement all night long. USF couldn’t convert on any shot beyond 15 feet, shooting a rough 1-18 from downtown.
With roughly five minutes remaining, and Temple sitting comfortably over USF, Coach McKie elected for Senior Colin Daly to get his final playing time as an Owl. After receiving a standing ovation from Liacouras, he came off a double screen and nailed a straight-on-three. Colin capitalized his five-year career with seven points, shooting 2-2 from three and going down as a fan favorite here at Temple.
Senior Day Bucket for @colindaly21 https://t.co/WYfeuNT3sM pic.twitter.com/bzYAZF720Y
— Temple Men's Basketball (@TUMBBHoops) March 6, 2022
Temple came out on top with a confidence-boosting 75-47 win over USF.
Damian Dunn was used as much as a bubbler after third-grade recess. He was merely unstoppable offensively, with a dominant stat line of 27 points, nine rebounds, and five assists with just two turnovers. Fourteen of which came in the first half. He finished 9-10 from the charity stripe while also accumulating a steal and a block. Damian struggled the last time these two teams matched up, shooting just 4-14 from the field. Dunn talked about improving his previous matchup against the Bulls after the game.
“It’s just making the proper adjustments, watching a lot of film, and trying to see what they were trying to take away from me the first time around. Just staying steady and trying to be aggressive early in the game to get myself going is what I think really sparked a little plugin me. Building confidence within myself and from these guys as well.” Dunn finished the season as the team’s leading scorer (excluding Khalif Battle due to injury), scoring 15.2 points a night.
Drive and layup for Dame in transition then Tai forces a turnover on the inbound pass. Owls lead 22 – 13 at the 8min media timeout. 7:50 left in the half@Dam1anKD @taistrickland13 pic.twitter.com/u8SlduCdKT
— Temple Men's Basketball (@TUMBBHoops) March 6, 2022
Zach Hicks seconded Dunn in the scoring column with 12 points on 4-9 from three. Hicks, a player who didn’t get any playing time at the start of the season, has turned into the Owl’s primary sixth man. Hicks has been given the green light to fire away from anywhere on the court. Being a 6’8 freshman on an injury-prone team, Hicks has expressed interest in learning to become a stretch four. In today’s age of basketball, his frame (being just 185 lbs) makes him a more undersized forward but has more defensive versatility. He’s shown growth more on the defensive side, reading passing lanes, improving on off-ball matchups, and guarding all five positions.
Zach hitting one of his 4 three pointers against USF is the Light it Up with @Lutron play of the game
𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗜𝗡! @zhicks1231 pic.twitter.com/N35h6aU6HZ
— Temple Men's Basketball (@TUMBBHoops) March 7, 2022
Hicks gives much credit to his big game against Delaware State for building confidence and showing the world the kind of player he is.
“After the Delaware State game, they (opposing teams) were like, “Oh, this is a guy we got to key in on.” After people did start to key in on me, I wasn’t getting as many three’s off, but I think as the season went on I really adjusted. Every time in practice, guys like Dame always push me hard in things like rebounding. Earlier in the year, I wasn’t that good of a rebounder, but I’m 6’8, so I got to get my head in there and rebound.” Hicks progressed so much throughout his freshman season and is looking to carry his hot hand into the tournament.
Jake Forrester made his first home appearance since December 22nd on Senior night and had incredible energy. Forrester added five points and two rebounds to the Owls win while shooting 3-3 from the free-throw line.
Jake with the And-1! @begreatjake https://t.co/ccZkgpDl6Q pic.twitter.com/Wn4S4wMxLa
— Temple Men's Basketball (@TUMBBHoops) March 6, 2022
Outside of forward Sam Hines Jr, the Bulls couldn’t get any flow offensively. Hines finished with 12 points and four rebounds, followed by Corey Walker with eight points on 2-5 shooting. USF finalizes their season dead last in the AAC with a 3-15 conference record (8-22 overall).
Jeremiah Williams, who’s been sidelined with a shoulder injury for almost a month, is looking to return. With their matchup scheduled for Friday, Williams has had plenty of time to heal up for the tournament. Williams suited up against Memphis on 2/24 for 17 minutes but didn’t look like himself out there on either end. Being a redshirt freshman with a huge leadership role, Williams will continue to grow with this young core whether or not he’s 100% for the tournament. J-Will is averaging 9.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and a team-high 4.3 assists this season.
Temple is a team known for defying the odds, and that’s precisely what they did this season. Prior to the season, CBS sports released “expert predictions” for the order of the AAC at the end of the season. They had Temple finishing 8th, behind teams like Wichita State, UCF, and Cincinnati.
Coach McKie paid no attention to the media. In fact, he loved the thought of being doubted. After being told they were ranked eighth in the preseason power rankings (and officially finishing fourth), Coach Mckie said, “Who’s opinion was that? ‘Cause, it wasn’t ours in that locker room. I pay no attention to what people say. I’ve been defying the odds all my life, and it’s the same mindset that I try to give my kids, and this is the result of one person’s opinion versus yours. That’s life, and that’s what I try to teach them. We’re fighters. We gotta get out, and we gotta fight every day; we’re not worrying about those statistics. That’s the confidence I like to give my players and my kids. Now whether or not we do it is one thing, but to have that mindset, we feel like we can go out and play against anybody.”
NEXT UP
Temple kicks off the AAC tournament Friday, March 11th, against their biggest rivals of the season, the Tulane Green Wave. Both teams stole a win at home, with the tie-breaker occurring in the tournament. Temple heads into the match-winning four of their last six, with Tulane coming off a six point loss to the SMU Mustangs.
