Owls Soar Behind Huge Effort From Wyatt

With a boisterous crowd at the Liacouras Center donning the free white t-shirts the university gave out for Senior Day, the Owls shot right out of the gate against a startled VCU Rams opponent.  With Fran Dunphy starting the five seniors who have been integral to the Owls’ success this season, Temple got out to a 7-0 and then a 12-3 lead.  VCU’s Troy Daniels, the team’s leading three-point shooter, picked up his second foul less than three minutes into the game and everything seemed to be coming up roses for the Owls.  However, the frenetic pace of the Rams’ full court press seemed to wear frazzle Temple; when they weren’t turning the ball over, the Owls were taking quick ill-advised shots on offense, leading to an 18-0 VCU run that saw them take control of the game.  To the Owls’ credit, they regrouped and began taking the ball hard to the rim, as a parade to the free throw line saw them end the first half on an 11-0 run, cutting the lead to five.

In the second half, the efforts of Khalif Wyatt and Jake O’Brien propelled the Owls into the lead and ahead for good, finishing off an 84-76 victory.  O’Brien continued his marksmanship from the outside, hitting 3 three-pointers in the second half, going 5-8 downtown for the game on his way to 19 points.  But the Owls would not have come out on top without their leader Khalif Wyatt, who seemed bound and determined to lose his final game in front of the Liacouras home crowd.  Again and again, Wyatt aggressively attacked the basket, using his size over the smaller VCU guards to convert in the paint and earn trips to the charity stripe.  Wyatt would finish 13-16 from the foul line as he totaled a game-high 30 points.

The win secured the third seed and a first-round bye in the A-10 Tournament for the Owls.  Temple will play Friday night against the winner of Massachusetts and George Washington.  Riding a 7-game winning streak and playing their best ball of the season, I like the Owls’ chances to make some noise in the conference tournament before moving on the Big Dance.