2020–21 Temple Owls men's basketball team
Temple University NCAA team
The 2020–21 Temple Owls men's basketball team represented Temple University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . The Owls, led by second-year head coach Aaron McKie , play their home games at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia as a member of the American Athletic Conference . They finished the season 5–11, 4–10 in AAC Play to finish in 9th place. They lost in the first round of the AAC tournament to South Florida .
Previous season
The Owls finished the 2019–20 season 14–17, 6–12 in AAC play to finish in tenth place. They entered as the No. 10 seed in the AAC tournament , which was ultimately cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic .
Offseason
Departures
Incoming transfers
Name
Pos.
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
Previous School
Khalif Battle
G
6'5"
175
Sophomore
Edison, New Jersey
Transferred from Butler . Battle was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility.[ 5] Will have three years of remaining eligibility.[ 6]
Sage Tolbert
F
6'8"
210
Junior
Richmond, Texas
Transferred from Southeast Missouri State . Under NCAA transfer rules, Tolbert will have to sit out the 2020–21 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.[ 7]
Brendan Barry
G
6'2"
180
Graduate Student
Fair Haven, New Jersey
Transferred from Dartmouth after graduating. Will have one year of eligibility beginning immediately.[ 8]
Colin Daly
G
6'4"
185
Senior
Havertown, Pennsylvania
Walk–on; transferred from West Chester .[ 9]
2020 recruiting class
College recruiting information
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
Jahlil White #64 SF
Wildwood, New Jersey
Wildwood Catholic High School
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Jul 19, 2019
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN grade: 76
Quincy Ademokoya #75 SF
Dacula, Georgia
Dacula High School
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Oct 12, 2019
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN grade: NR
Nick Jourdain PF
Wayne, New Jersey
Covenant College Prep
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Mar 18, 2020
Star ratings : Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: NR
Jeremiah Williams #77 SF
Chicago, Illinois
Simeon Career Academy
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Apr 22, 2020
Star ratings : Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings: 247Sports : 93
Note : In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.
Sources:
2021 recruiting class
College recruiting information (2021)
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
Brandon Sanders C
Miami, FL
South Miami High School
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
Jul 13, 2020
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN grade: NR
Hysier Miller PG
Philadelphia, PA
Neumann Goretti High School
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
Aug 7, 2020
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN grade: 78
Zach Hicks PF
Cherry Hill, NJ
Camden Catholic High School
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Sep 4, 2020
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings: 247Sports : 80
Note : In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.
Sources:
Preseason
On October 28, The American released the preseason Poll and other preseason awards[ 10]
Coaches Poll
Predicted finish
Team
Votes (1st place)
1
Houston
99 (2)
2
Memphis
90 (2)
3
SMU
80
4
Cincinnati
77
5
South Florida
61
6
Tulsa
50
7
Wichita State
44
8
UCF
37
9
East Carolina
34
10
Temple
18
11
Tulane
15
Roster
2020–21 Temple Owls men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
G
0
Khalif Battle
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
So
Trenton Catholic Academy Butler
Edison, New Jersey
G
1
Damian Dunn
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
RS Fr
Meadowcreek High School
Kinston, North Carolina
F
2
Jahlil White
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
Fr
Wildwood Catholic High School
Wildwood, New Jersey
F
3
Sage Tolbert III
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Jr
Combine AcademySoutheast Missouri State
New Orleans, Louisiana
F
4
J. P. Moorman
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Sr
Greensboro Day School
Greensboro, North Carolina
F
10
Jake Forrester
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
225 lb (102 kg)
Jr
Westtown School Indiana
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
F
11
Nick Jourdain
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
Fr
Covenant College Prep
Wayne, New Jersey
G
13
Tai Strickland
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
RS So
St. Petersburg High School Wisconsin
Tampa, Florida
F
14
Arashma Parks
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
230 lb (104 kg)
RS So
The Phelps School
North Royalton, Ohio
G
15
Brendan Barry
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
GS
Rumson-Fair High School Dartmouth
Fair Haven, New Jersey
G
21
Colin Daly (W)
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Sr
Archbishop Carroll High School West Chester
Havertown, Pennsylvania
F
22
De'Vondre Perry
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
Sr
Baltimore Polytechnic
Baltimore, Maryland
G
23
Quincy Ademokoya
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Fr
Dacula High School
Dacula, Georgia
F
24
Tim Waddington (W)
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
RS Sr
Central Bucks High School South
Warrington, Pennsylvania
G
25
Jeremiah Williams
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Fr
Simeon Career Academy
Chicago, Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster
Schedule and results
COVID-19 impact
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic , the Owls' schedule is subject to change, including the cancellation or postponement of individual games, the cancellation of the entire season, or games played either with minimal fans or without fans in attendance and just essential personnel.
Schedule
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
High points
High rebounds
High assists
Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
December 3, 2020 *7:00 p.m.
at No. 12 Villanova Philadelphia Big 5
Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues[ 20]
Finneran Pavilion Villanova, PA
December 12, 2020 *3:00 p.m., NBCSN
at Saint Joseph's Philadelphia Big 5/Rivalry
Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[ 21]
Hagan Arena Philadelphia, PA
December 19, 2020 *4:30 p.m., ESPN+
NJIT Previously scheduled for Nov. 25
W 72–60
1–0
18 – Dunn
14 – Perry
5 – Dunn
Liacouras Center Philadelphia, PA
December 22, 2020 8:00 p.m., ESPN+
at No. 6 Houston
L 50–76
1–1 (0–1)
12 – Moorman II
8 – Perry
4 – Williams
Fertitta Center (1,859)Houston, TX
December 30, 2020 2:00 p.m., ESPN+
SMU
L 71–79
1–2 (0–2)
17 – Barry
12 – Forrester
3 – Moorman II
Liacouras Center Philadelphia, PA
January 2, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPNU
Memphis
Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[ 22]
Liacouras Center Philadelphia, PA
January 11, 2021 3:00 p.m., ESPN+
at SMU
L 68–79
1–3 (0–3)
17 – Dunn
8 – Moorman II
5 – Dunn
Moody Coliseum (1,417)University Park, TX
January 14, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPN+
UCF
W 62–55
2–3 (1–3)
20 – Dunn
13 – Moorman II
4 – Williams
Liacouras Center Philadelphia, PA
January 16, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Tulane
W 65-57
3-3 (2-3)
18 – Dunn
10 – Forrester
5 – Williams
Devlin Fieldhouse (100)New Orleans, LA
January 23, 2021 12:00 p.m., CBS
No. 8 Houston Previously scheduled for Feb. 8
L 51–68
3–4 (2–4)
15 – Forrester
8 – Forrester
6 – Williams
Liacouras Center Philadelphia, PA
January 26, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN+
Tulsa Previously scheduled for Mar. 2
W 76–67
4–4 (3–4)
22 – Battle
11 – Battle
8 – Williams
Liacouras Center Philadelphia, PA
January 31, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPN+
Tulane
L 64–81
4–5 (3–5)
15 – Forrester
11 – Williams
9 – Williams
Liacouras Center Philadelphia, PA
February 4, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN2
Cincinnati
L 60–63
4–6 (3–6)
16 – Dunn
7 – Moorman II
3 – Tied
Liacouras Center Philadelphia, PA
February 7, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPNU
at Wichita State
L 67–70
4–7 (3–7)
22 – Dunn
7 – Dunn
3 – Tied
Charles Koch Arena (2,625)Wichita, KS
February 11, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPN+
East Carolina Previously scheduled for Jan. 16
Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[ 23]
Liacouras Center Philadelphia, PA
February 12, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Cincinnati Previously scheduled for Jan. 20
L 69–71
4–8 (3–8)
17 – Barry
8 – Perry
4 – Williams
Liacouras Center (300)Philadelphia, PA
February 13, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPN+
at East Carolina
Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[ 24]
Williams Arena Greenville, NC
February 16, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPNU
at Tulsa
L 66–72
4–9 (3–9)
21 – Battle
7 – Battle
4 – Williams
Reynolds Center (100)Tulsa, OK
February 21, 2021 3:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Memphis
Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[ 25]
FedEx Forum Memphis, TN
February 21, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+
South Florida Previously scheduled for Jan. 27
L 76–83
4–10 (3–10)
32 – Battle
10 – Battle
5 – Battle
Liacouras Center Philadelphia, PA
February 24, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPNU
at South Florida
W 65–47
5–10 (4–10)
22 – Battle
6 – Tied
4 – Battle
Yuengling Center (471)Tampa, FL
February 27, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPNU
at UCF
Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues[ 26]
Addition Financial Arena Orlando, FL
March 6, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN2
Wichita State
Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues[ 27]
Liacouras Center Philadelphia, PA
AAC tournament
March 11, 2021 Noon, ESPNU
(9)
vs. (8) South Florida First Round
L 71–73
5–11
18 – Battle
11 – Forrester
5 – Battle
Dickies Arena Fort Worth, TX
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in
Eastern Time .
Awards and honors
American Athletic Conference honors
All-AAC Awards
Sportsmanship Award: J.P. Moorman II
All-AAC Third Team
All-AAC Freshman Team
Source [ 28]
References
^ Goodman, Jeff [@GoodmanHoops] (May 2, 2020). "Temple transfer Monty Scott is headed to Portland State, per source. Eligible immediately with one year to play" (Tweet ). Retrieved May 13, 2020 – via Twitter .
^ Klan, Mike (April 10, 2020). "Reports have guard Josh Pierre-Louis transferring to UCSB" . keyt.com . KEYT-TV . Retrieved April 13, 2020 .
^ Juliano, Joe (April 29, 2020). "Villanova's Saddiq Bey, St. Joseph's Ryan Daly, and Temple's Nate Pierre-Louis officially file for NBA draft early entry" . inquirer.com . The Philadelphia Inquirer . Retrieved May 19, 2020 .
^ "Kent State Gets Commitment From Transfer Justyn Hamilton" . kentstatesports.com . Kent State Athletics. April 19, 2020. Retrieved April 20, 2020 .
^ "Khalif Battle's NCAA Waiver Approved; Owls Guard Immediately Eligible to Play" . owlsports.com . Temple Athletics. November 25, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020 .
^ Woods, David (March 21, 2020). "Freshman guard Khalif Battle to transfer from Butler" . indystar.com . Indianapolis Star . Retrieved April 20, 2020 .
^ "Men's Basketball Announces Three Signings" . owlsports.com . Temple University Athletics. April 16, 2020. Retrieved April 20, 2020 .
^ "Graduate Transfer Brendan Barry Signs with Men's Basketball" . owlsports.com . Temple University Athletics. November 13, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020 .
^ "Men's Basketball Adds Senior Transfer Colin Daly to Roster" . owlsports.com . Temple University Athletics. November 25, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020 .
^ "Houston Tabbed as 2020-21 American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Favorite" . theAmerican.org . Retrieved October 28, 2020 .
^ Collinelli, Dante (November 23, 2020). "Owls' Nov. 29 men's basketball game canceled" . temple-news.com . The Temple News. Retrieved December 13, 2020 .
^ "Temple, Butler men's basketball teams both on pause after positive coronavirus tests" . ESPN . November 26, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020 .
^ "The American Announces Men's Basketball Schedule Changes" . January 27, 2021.
^ "The American Announces Men's Basketball Schedule Changes" . January 26, 2021.
^ "The American Announces Men's Basketball Schedule Changes" . February 10, 2021.
^ "Cincinnati-Temple Game Scheduled for Jan. 20 Postponed" . January 19, 2021.
^ "The American Announces Men's Basketball Schedule Changes" . February 10, 2021.
^ "Pair of American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Games Postponed" . theamerican.org . January 20, 2021.
^ "The American Announces Men's Basketball Schedule Changes" . theamerican.org . February 18, 2021.
^ "Temple, Butler men's basketball teams both on pause after positive coronavirus tests" . November 26, 2020.
^ "Temple, Butler men's basketball teams both on pause after positive coronavirus tests" . November 26, 2020.
^ "Pair of Men's Basketball Games Postponed" . theamerican.org . December 31, 2020.
^ "The American Announces Men's Basketball Schedule Changes" . February 10, 2021.
^ "The American Announces Men's Basketball Schedule Changes" . theamerican.org . February 10, 2021.
^ "The American Announces Changes to Men's Basketball Schedule" . theamerican.org . February 16, 2021.
^ "Saturday's Temple-UCF Men's Basketball Game Cancelled" . theamerican.org . February 27, 2021.
^ "The American Announces Changes to Final Weekend of Regular Season" . theamerican.org . March 2, 2021.
^ "American Athletic Conference Announces Men's Basketball Honors" . theamerican.org . March 10, 2021. Retrieved March 10, 2021 .
Venues Culture & lore People Seasons Helms and Premo-Porretta national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics