Temple used hot shooting in the second half to score a 88-74 win over Auburn in the Charleston Classic semifinals.
The Owls shot percent in the second half and for the game and got balanced scoring across the board.
Obi Enechionyia and Quinton Rose led Temple with 19 points each, while Shizz Alston Jr. poured in 18.
Auburn couldn’t match the Owls’ shooting efficiency, as the Tigers shot only 24 percent in the first half and 36 percent for the game.
The Tigers were led by Anfernee McLemore, who scored 19 points and added seven rebounds.
Auburn had four other players in double figures, with Jared Harper and Chuma Okeke each scoring 11 points, and Bryce Brown and Desean Murray adding 10 a piece.
Lovell’s Analysis
Bruce Pearl’s squad put itself in a difficult situation in the first half in not hitting shots, and on several occasions, settling for jump shots instead of driving into the lane.
Those early shooting woes were erased in the second half, and Auburn was able to score enough to have a chance to win.
But once again, the result was about defense for the Tigers.
Temple was able to get way too many open shots in the second half, and the defensive consistency that was there against Indiana State was not there for Auburn in this one.
It also didn’t help that Fran Dunphy’s team controlled the tempo and forced the Tigers to play more half court defense, which is clearly still a concern at this stage of the season.
There are going to be teams like Temple that are able to keep the tempo at a slow pace, and that’s where the Tigers have to prove that they have the patience and discipline needed to beat those type of opponents.
Of course, it wasn’t all bad for Pearl and company. I like what we’ve seen thus far from McClemore and Okeke, and those two will continue to play key roles while Austin Wiley and Danjel Purifoy are sidelined.
And there’s the play of Murray, who has double-doubles in back-to-back games now.
The season is young, and there’s no reason to panic over one game. After all, the Owls are a very good team and will likely be playing in the NCAA Tournament come March.
However, if Auburn wants to be there with them, it’ll need to find that elusive consistency on defense that hasn’t been there in a long time now.
And with several high-quality mid-major and power conference teams remaining on the non-conference schedule, the Tigers will need to find it sooner rather than later.
Otherwise, the same issues that plagued this team last season may be the ones that keep this team from reaching its full potential in an SEC that is as competitive as ever.