Aaron McKie reflects on a Temple season marked by injuries and mixed results: ‘You get knocked down, you got to dust yourself off’

After Temple defeated South Florida in its final regular-season game, Aaron McKie said his team fell just shy of its goals this season.

But the Owls actually outperformed preseason expectations and finished fourth in American Athletic Conference play. They finished 17-12, 10-7 AAC..

Temple ended its season with a 69-60 loss to Tulane in the AAC Tournament quarterfinals on March 11. Despite the early exit, McKie said he was proud considering everything the Owls endured between injuries, COVID-19 and frequent lineup movement.

“You get knocked down, you got to find a way to dust yourself off and get back up,” McKie said. “I thought we did a lot of that during the year.”

The Owls’ season featured highs that fit a team with enough talent for legitimate postseason contention and lows that reminded them just how far they still have to go.

» READ MORE: Temple’s Khalif Battle honed his edge in a competitive family environment

Three of Temple’s Day 1 starters missed significant time because of injury.

“We were able to keep our blinders on and continue to work and push despite injuries,” McKie said. “We still had to play the games, no matter what was going on in our program.”

Khalif Battle was ruled out for the season after he suffered a fracture to his the fifth metatarsal on his left foot against La Salle on Dec. 1. The sophomore guard averaged 21.4 points per game and led the team in three-pointer shooting. Temple turned to a committee approach to pick up the scoring slack.

Damian Dunn stepped up in Battle’s absence. The third-year freshman averaged 18.0 points per game and made 30 three-pointers after hitting just five last season.

Temple’s lineup took another hit after Dunn (ankle) and Jeremiah Williams (shoulder) suffered injuries against South Florida on Feb. 7.

Dunn returned to the starting lineup against Memphis on Feb. 24. But he suffered an ankle injury in the second half against Tulane in the AAC quarterfinals and missed the rest of what turned out to be Temple’s season finale.

Williams, who averaged 9.5 points and 4.3 assists, missed seven of Temple’s last eight games. The second-year freshman underwent right shoulder surgery after the season and is expected to make a full recovery.

Much of Temple’s improvement can be attributed to consistency. The Owls brought back the same core from a year ago and were the second-youngest team in all of college basketball (ranked 357th in terms of experience, per KenPom).

Closing out wins down the stretch was perhaps the Owls’ biggest step forward. They went 0-4 in games decided by five points or fewer last season. This year, they were a conference-leading 8-5 under similar circumstances.

Temple found more success utilizing small-ball lineups, especially in conference play. Trotting out lineups of four guards 6-foot-5 or taller and 6-8 forward Nick Jourdain allowed them to better space the floor — something the Owls struggled with a year ago.

» READ MORE: Nick Jourdain made great strides on defense and stepped up when Temple needed him most

Dealing with injuries to Battle, Williams, and Dunn gave freshmen Hysier Miller and Zach Hicks a chance to see increased floor time.

Miller played sparingly early on before stepping into a starting spot for Temple’s final seven contests. He also posted a career-high 21 points against Tulane in the conference tournament. Hicks boasted a 35-point outing in a win over Delaware State and displayed his shooting prowess with 10 threes. His biggest step forward came as a rebounder and defender as he acclimated to the physicality at the college level.

“We got a long road ahead of us,” McKie said. “We have to continue to work and get these guys better each day. ... They have to get better as basketball players. I have to continue to get better as a coach. If we put in the work this summer, I think we have a chance to be a really good team.”

Midway through the season, Temple went on a four-game winning streak against Central Florida, East Carolina, Tulsa and Cincinnati.

Each game was settled in the final possessions as the Owls leaned on their most reliable scorer down the stretch.

Dunn had a stepback buzzer-beating three, solidifying a 78-75 victory against East Carolina on Jan. 8. It was his second game-winning three after making the previous game-winner in a 66-62 triumph over against Central Florida on Jan. 5.

Against Cincinnati on Jan. 25, Dunn made a go-ahead jumper in the final 30 seconds to give the Owls a 59-58 lead. Temple finished out its 61-58 victory from the free-throw line.

Nine games into Temple’s season, the team’s outlook was a bit in flux.

Battle had played like one of the most efficient guards in the country before he was ruled out for the remainder of the season — albeit a small sample size.

» READ MORE: How Zach Hicks and Hysier Miller transitioned from freshmen to Temple’s ‘face of the program’

The Owls won their first two games in his absence, at home against Penn, 81-72, then on the road in overtime against Vanderbilt, 72-68. After the initial shock of losing their go-to scoring option, Temple managed to stay afloat.

Then came the lowest point of the season: a 68-49 road loss to St. Joseph’s and a home loss to Central Florida, 65-48, in back-to-back games, four days apart.

Over the two-game stretch, Temple shot 5-for-50 from three and recorded a season-low four assists against the Hawks, then just seven against the Knights. It was also the first time Temple had scored fewer than 50 points in back-to-back games since February of 1996 against UMass and George Washington.

Registration Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/inquirer-live-bracket-jawn-tickets-300986297117