Knocked over by the Green Wave; Temple falls to Tulane 81-64

The start of both halves for Temple showed a team that had the ability to dominate Tulane. Early runs in each half showed promising returns and put the Owls in the lead, with the opportunity to capitalize.

College basketball, however, is a forty minute contest. 

For the majority of Sunday afternoon’s game at the Liacouras Center, Tulane had Temple figured out. The Green Wave (7-5, 2-5 AAC) won their first road game of the season over the Owls (4-5, 3-5 AAC) in a convincing way, 81-64. Senior captain J.P. Moorman II and head coach Aaron McKie agreed that the performance was, in a word, “selfish” by the team.

“It was selfishness offensively and defensively,” Moorman said postgame. “We weren’t in help (defense) for our brothers the way that we should be. We weren’t in the gaps talking to one another as you should be. We just gave a poor performance today defensively and offensively.”

“We didn’t share it the way we would normally share it offensively. I thought we were selfish defensively, we didn’t protect each other the way we normally do,” McKie added. “It was a snowball effect.”

Temple took a lot of ill-advised jump shots as it tried to figure out Tulane’s matchup zone, especially from beyond the arc. The result was the team’s worst shooting percentage from three in a game this season (6-27, 22.2%). 

The troubles didn’t stop there. Defensively, the Owls allowed 38 points in the paint. That’s a far cry from the mere 20 points they allowed inside the first time these two teams matched up earlier in January.

On the boards, the Green Wave pulled down 43 rebounds, by far their most in a conference game this season and only one off their season-high of 44. The Owls only pulled down 28 boards, their worst output since their blowout 76-50 loss to Houston in December. 

Those three statistical struggles all point back to the overarching struggle on offense.

“Offensively, we took bad shots. We just took some quick shots, some bad shots and we weren’t in position to be able to offensive rebound,” McKie explained postgame. “They played in the paint against us all day and just had us on our heels. For what reason, I don’t know.”

One of the keys to Tulane’s success was sophomore guard Jaylen Forbes, who has been the engine that’s driven the Green Wave all season long. Forbes, who transferred into the program in the offseason from Alabamba, put up a career high 23 points on 6-12 shooting from the field in 40 minutes of action.

There were a multitude of shortcomings for Temple defensively that allowed this to happen, from failure to rotate out on his shooting (Forbes knocked down four three pointers) to allowing easy looks at the rim. His game was emblematic of the ease at which Tulane was able to play for stretches in this game.

“It’s a lot of one on ones,” junior forward Jake Forrester explained postgame of Tulane’s offensive approach. “Everyone can score baskets on that team and they were just spreading us apart, swinging the ball and getting extra boards.”

Forrester’s play could be one of the highlights of today’s game, though he says he could have done a better job getting on the glass. The 6-10 forward had 15 points and nine rebounds, marking his fourth straight game scoring in double figures. 

Being assertive on the offensive end and staying out of foul trouble has kept Forrester on the floor. He’s averaging five free throw attempts per game in his last four, the highest over a four game stretch in his Temple career. As for the fouls, it’s a work in progress. Despite fouling out against Tulsa last Tuesday, he’s averaging just 2.5 per game in his last four while playing over 24 minutes a night. 

Freshman guard Jeremiah Williams had a game that looks good on the statsheet, piling up nine assists and 11 rebounds. He and Forrester connected on an alley-oop early in the first half that was both the highlight of the game and indicative of the high water mark of Temple’s performance in an otherwise forgettable game.

“I think it’ll be good for us, having this type of loss,” Moorman said. “It’ll put a taste in our mouth that you’d don’t want to go back to again.”

The Owls will have a few days to gather themselves before Cincinnati travels to town for a nationally televised matchup on Thursday night. Sunday afternoon’s game brought a roller coaster of a week to a close for the program. 

Last Tuesday’s big win over Tulsa generated a buzz about the team’s future and certainly was a high for this group. The passing of John Chaney, the greatest coach and ambassador of Temple basketball in its history, on Friday was cause for heavy hearts. 

In the end, it’s a bad game at the end of an emotional week.