With a Houston team coming off a Final Four appearance, Ramon Walker Jr. was buried on the depth chart and then sidelined with a hand injury, unable to obtain the playing time he desired.
With the Cougars in need of a big shot late in the game, Walker hit a 3-pointer in front of his own bench to extend Houston’s advantage to five in the closing minutes and help the Cougars beat Temple 66-61.
Houston’s statistics appeared to be favorable across the board (12-2, 1-0 American Athletic Conference). Jamal Shead scored 14 points and Fabian White Jr. had 15 points and 14 rebounds. Walker scored 13 points, including a 3-pointer with 2:30 left.
The most astounding figures came in the minutes-played column: four starters played at least 37 minutes, and Shead, who was named the game’s MVP by coach Kelvin Sampson, played all 40 minutes.
“This is by far our best win of the year,” stated Sampson.
With Kyler Edwards out with a sprained ankle and the Cougars playing their first game since Marcus Sasser’s season-ending surgery on his left foot and Tramon Mark’s shoulder surgery, the heavy minutes were necessary.
“If this were a football team, I’d give a ball to everyone who played,” Sampson added.
Walker, who had only appeared in three games this season, recovered from hand surgery just in time to earn his first career start.
“We’re lucky he was cleared and ready to play around the same time Tramon and Marcus went down,” Sampson said. “Ramon was there when we needed someone to step up and make a big shot.”
The Cougars only utilized seven of their ten players against Temple (7-6, 1-1), which will not be enough to carry them through the rest of the AAC schedule. With so many players out with injuries or under COVID-19 health and safety rules, Sampson was forced to deploy grad assistants and managers in practice over the previous week.
Temple made a run at an upset, with Damian Dunn scoring 14 points and Nick Jourdain adding 12 for the Cougars, who were 1612-point favorites on the road according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
The Owls used Houston’s poor 3-point shooting (4 of 22) to keep the game close at home.
With 6 minutes left, Jahlil White sank a 3-pointer to pull Temple to 57-54, and Jourdain followed with Temple’s 10th 3-pointer to make it 59-57 with 3:53 left in the game.
“I’ll put forth the effort.” “But it’s still a loss,” Aaron McKie, the coach, added. “It’s something from which we can learn. They are undoubtedly among the best teams in the country. However, we wanted to make a statement and were unable to do so.”
The Owls would have had the mildest of court-stormings if they had pulled off the upset. Due to Temple’s winter vacation, concerns over COVID-19, or years of poor basketball, the Liacouras Center was almost empty. When Jeremiah Williams turned a steal into a fastbreak layup to pull Temple to 42-41, the small but devoted crowd stood and applauded.
“They tired us out a little bit later in the game getting to the glass and getting additional possessions,” Dunn said. “That was a blow to us.”
LARGE IMAGE
Houston: The Cougars are still the best team in the American Athletic Conference, but they can’t afford any more injuries if they want to compete in the NCAA tournament. Without a healthy roster, the Cougars’ chances of reaching the Final Four for the second straight year are slim.
Temple: In McKie’s third season, the Owls are still seeking for a breakthrough year. Temple, which was once Philadelphia’s pride under late Hall of Fame coach John Chaney, hasn’t beaten a Top 25 team in two years and hasn’t been ranked in ten. Temple had an opportunity to capture a hallmark conference win with Houston struggling, but the Owls fell to Houston for the seventh game in a row. Jake Forrester (non-COVID-19 sickness) and Tai Strickland (back) were both unable to play in the game.
THANK YOU FOR RETURNING.
The Owls’ Big 5 game at No. 22 Villanova was postponed on Dec. 29, while the Cougars’ AAC home opener against Cincinnati was postponed on Dec. 28.
