When Do the ‘Slow Starts’ Stop for Temple?
Tuesday night the Owls, who no one has as a consensus pick to with the AAC, fell short in their first home game in conference play to Houston Cougars, making them 1-2 in the AAC. Now, to anyone who knows basketball knows that on paper, this was a win for Temple.
When I say on paper, I mean statistically speaking, a team that shoots 42% from three, 76% from the line with 3 players in double digits and only 6 turnovers should not lose. So what happened? When questioned on his team’s loss, Head Coach Aaron Mckie said the Owls fought hard but couldn’t overcome their “slow start”.
What he’s referencing is the 15 point mountain Houston created in the first half that the Owls just couldn’t get over. That combined with the 22+ rebounds Houston pulled down created a gap that the Owls 47 point second half couldn’t close. But the term “slow start” could be used for this game, and their conference play.
What makes for a slow start and more importantly how do the Owls avoid it moving forward?
I don’t know, I’m just a beat writer. What I do know is that this is a problem that ALWAYS bites teams later down the line. Slow starts generally stem from a lack of sharpness on(believe it or not) the defensive end during the first few minutes of the game. Teams have different confidence and peace of mind on the offensive end when they know they’re capable of getting a stop, a rebound and into their offensive sets.
Don’t believe me? Look up the records for Virginia, Liberty and Butler, three of the top 5 defensive teams this year.
In the case of the Owls, this well-balanced team is more than capable of making a run in their conference and the NCAA tournament. They just have to be as sharp in the first 8 minutes of the game, as they are in the second half.
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