2013-2014 Regular Season Record: 9-22
AAC Conference Record: 4-14
Graduating Seniors: Dalton Pepper (17.5 ppg)
Returning Impact Players: Will Cummings (16.5 ppg), Quenton DeCosey (15.4 ppg), Anthony Lee (13.6 ppg)
AAC Conference Record: 4-14
Graduating Seniors: Dalton Pepper (17.5 ppg)
Returning Impact Players: Will Cummings (16.5 ppg), Quenton DeCosey (15.4 ppg), Anthony Lee (13.6 ppg)
After defeating Big 5 rival Penn to start the season off, Temple went on to lose their next three games to start off 1-3. However, things seemed to turn around when the Owls were able to knock off Georgia and UAB to finish fifth in the Charleston Classic, and then extended their winning streak to 3 after conquering Saint Joseph's at home. Unfortunately, things would not look up for the Owls the rest of the season, as they lost 2 of their last 3 games in December, including a tough loss in OT to a ranked Texas squad.
2014 wasn't kind to the Owls at all, but in their defense, Temple had a very difficult conference schedule. First, they lost their first 3 games in January to Rutgers, USF and UCF, all beatable opponents. Then came the ranked teams. Eight of their games in 2014 came against a ranked opponent, and also an additional tough matchup against UConn, who wasn't ranked early on but got a lot stronger towards the end of the year. They fought hard, but just lacked the depth to compete with this kind of competition day in and day out.
This season's Owls squad had only one senior, leading scorer Dalton Pepper. After a very good 2012-2013 season in which the Owls made the NCAA tournament and nearly knocked off number one seed Indiana, this was definitely a rebuilding season of sorts for the Owls. It was their first season in a new conference, so next year should be a lot easier for their scouts.
Although the Owls only have one incoming freshman next season, they should be able to add depth from within. Rising sophomores Josh Brown and Mark Williams should add a few extra buckets to next year's offense and incoming freshman Obi Enechionyia is a big guy who can help take some of the load off of Lee on the defensive end. Having these three provide some much needed depth to the returning upperclassmen should help to instantly improve the Temple squad's record next season.
2013-2014 was a tough transition year for the Owls, but things should look much brighter next season. With a lot of talented players on opposing teams in the conference graduating or leaving early, Temple can possibly insert themselves near the top half of the conference with a good offseason.
By: Dan Goggin
2014 wasn't kind to the Owls at all, but in their defense, Temple had a very difficult conference schedule. First, they lost their first 3 games in January to Rutgers, USF and UCF, all beatable opponents. Then came the ranked teams. Eight of their games in 2014 came against a ranked opponent, and also an additional tough matchup against UConn, who wasn't ranked early on but got a lot stronger towards the end of the year. They fought hard, but just lacked the depth to compete with this kind of competition day in and day out.
This season's Owls squad had only one senior, leading scorer Dalton Pepper. After a very good 2012-2013 season in which the Owls made the NCAA tournament and nearly knocked off number one seed Indiana, this was definitely a rebuilding season of sorts for the Owls. It was their first season in a new conference, so next year should be a lot easier for their scouts.
Although the Owls only have one incoming freshman next season, they should be able to add depth from within. Rising sophomores Josh Brown and Mark Williams should add a few extra buckets to next year's offense and incoming freshman Obi Enechionyia is a big guy who can help take some of the load off of Lee on the defensive end. Having these three provide some much needed depth to the returning upperclassmen should help to instantly improve the Temple squad's record next season.
2013-2014 was a tough transition year for the Owls, but things should look much brighter next season. With a lot of talented players on opposing teams in the conference graduating or leaving early, Temple can possibly insert themselves near the top half of the conference with a good offseason.
By: Dan Goggin
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