What To Watch For: USF vs. Temple
Following a strong effort at Connecticut, South Florida’s men’s basketball team returns to the Sun Dome to face Temple on Saturday in search of their first American Athletic Conference home victory.
The Bulls have lost four straight and have not won at home since December 21. The Owls have won four in a row and six of their last seven games including an overtime win over Wichita State.
RunningTheBulls.com has your quick facts and what to watch for against Temple:
Quick Facts
Matchup: Temple (14-10, 6-6 AAC) at USF (8-17, 1-11 AAC)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 10
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Tampa, Fla. | USF Sun Dome
Watch: ESPNU (Roy Philpott, Mark Wise)
Radio: AM 820 | GoUSFBulls.com | USF Bulls Unlimited (Jim Lighthall, Joey Johnston)
History: This will be the 11th meeting between Temple and USF. The Bulls won the first meeting six years ago in the NCAA Tournament’s second round in Nashville, TN. USF also won the first-ever game between the two as conference opponents on January 9, 2014, but has not won since.
The Opponent: Temple is an experienced and talented team that can score in multiple ways. Perhaps their most talented player is sophomore Quinton Rose who is a very good wing that can beat you off the bounce and is their 'go get a basket' guy. Rose, who is already catching the eyes of NBA scouts, is averaging 14.7 points (ranking him ninth in the AAC) and 4.4 rebounds per game. Rose is shooting 40.2 percent beyond the arc and has already made twice as many three-pointers as last season. He is also tied for fourth in the AAC in steals per game.
In addition to Rose, junior guard Shizz Alston (13.2 ppg), senior big man Obi Enechionyia (11.3 ppg and 6.5 rpg) and senior guard Josh Brown (8.7 ppg) are starters capable of scoring 20 points on any night and all shoot better than 34 percent beyond the arc. Enechionyia is also tied for first in the AAC in blocked shots. He is a matchup problem due to his 6-foot-10 size and three-point shooting ability.
A reserve to keep an eye on is Ernest Aflakpui. The 6-foot-10, 240-pounder is a mobile big man with a big strong body and good hands. His offense is not that polished, but Aflakpui is a very good offensive rebounder and gives the Owls energy and good size inside.
On offense they rely on good spacing. Temple has great guard play and they shoot the three really well as a team. At times they play like Tulane they will try to isolate you and take you off the dribble. Temple takes care of the ball well and doesn't overcomplicate things on offense or force many passes. The Owls are rebounding well of late, averaging 11 OREB in their last four games, including 16 against Connecticut 12 against ECU. Recently the Owls pace of play has picked up. For the season they are averaging 66.5 possessions per game, but in the last four games the Owls are averaging 71.5 possessions. Temple will play a lot of three guard lineups with freshman Nate Pierre-Louis coming off of the bench. This makes them difficult to press with multiple ball-handlers on the floor.
Defensively Temple is almost exclusively in man – 98.3 percent of the time – but they will go into a 2-3 zone to change the rhythm of the game up a little bit. Often they will do this out of a full court press. The Owls use a soft contain 1-2-2 zone press but when they are trying to speed up an opponent or cause turnovers they will use, RunningTheBulls.com’s favorite, 1-2-1-1 press and trap.
Outlook: I hate to say it but USF is catching Temple at the wrong time, the Owls are scoring the ball at an alarming rate. To have a chance at a win Saturday, USF needs to control Temple’s three-point shooting, especially off dribble penetration. Stay even with, or better than, Temple in rebounding, play great transition defense, control pace and not settle for jump shots.
Prediction: Temple 77 USF 65