Temple’s incredible AAC tournament run, bid for NCAA Tournament ends with loss to UAB in championship game

FORT WORTH, Texas — For almost a week, Temple extended its season one upset after another, capturing national attention as it sent a succession of higher-seeded teams home with four wins in four days. Call it a modern-day “fo’, fo,’ fo’” of sorts.

But on Sunday, the magic ran out in a big way. No. 11 seed Temple lost, 85-69, to fourth-seeded Alabama-Birmingham in the American Athletic Conference tournament final.

“It’s been an incredible run with these guys,” said coach Adam Fisher, flanked by his entire team on the postgame interview podium. “I’ll remember being at the hotel with these guys, you’re eating together, and Zion [Stanford] for whatever reason, sits at the coaches’ table at every meal. … The greatest joy I had as a coach was watching them enjoy this week and the energy, the passion. I think they really represented our university great, and that I’m grateful for.”

UAB (23-11) claimed the AAC tournament title in its first season in the conference and is back in the Big Dance for the first time since 2021-22. It’s a 12 seed and will face No. 5 seed San Diego State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

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Sunday’s game, like the three before it, was marked by a slow start offensively for the Owls (16-20). But UAB had no such problem. Or at least Alejandro Vazquez didn’t. The 6-foot-4 Blazers guard hit six of his first eight shots and scored 16 of his team’s first 22 points as it took a 10-point lead at the 9-minute, 22-second mark. He scored 21 points by halftime and finished with 29.

But when he took a breather, the Owls had an opening. UAB went scoreless for over three minutes as Temple shaved its deficit to four on a three-pointer from Hysier Miller and a three-point play by Shane Dezonie. Miller played all 40 minutes and led the team with a career-high 32 points, five rebounds, six assists, and three steals, while Dezonie added 11 points. Sam Hofman, who was held scoreless, led the Owls with 11 rebounds. Miller’s 96 points and 23 assists over five days set tournament records, and he and Steve Settle III were named to the AAC all-tournament team.

But just as it looked like Temple had some momentum, the Blazers mounted a 11-0 run that was highlighted by back-to-back dunks by Christian Coleman and Efrem Johnson as the Temple turnovers began to add up. The Owls had eight by halftime — the same number as in their win over Florida Atlantic and more than in the upset of Charlotte — and 14 for the game.

“They have great length,” Fisher said. “They’re extremely active. They’re in passing lanes. They swipe going for steals. So I think when you have that, you’re going to have a little bit more turnovers. I thought we did a better job in the second half of cleaning some of that up. I think we reduced it by a couple. But, again, it’s a credit to their activity, their length, and they mix up defenses.”

UAB continued building its lead throughout the latter portion of the first half and led by as many as 18 with 40 seconds left before settling into a 43-27 halftime advantage.

Temple largely had been a second-half team throughout its run at Dickies Arena. Was another rally in the cards?

Not this time.

UAB opened a 20-point lead on two Johnson free throws about a minute-and-a-half into the period, and its lead kept growing from there. The Blazers used a 10-0 run to pull ahead, 55-29, a run punctuated by a Coleman alley-oop, much to the delight of the crowd that traveled from Birmingham, Ala. Coleman also finished in double figures with 15 points, while Yaxel Lendeborg added 14 points and 16 boards. Lendeborg took home Most Outstanding Player honors as he and Vazquez also were named to the all-tournament team.

After UAB’s lead reached 23, Temple put together a 9-2 run to cut its deficit to 16 with 8:45 left, and later added a Miller-powered 10-2 run to get within 12 with 3:21 to go. But the Owls didn’t get any closer. After shooting 30% in the first half, they finished shooting 41% to UAB’s 49.2%.

The Owls weren’t cutting down the nets, and a tumultuous season likely is over — though Fisher said any chance to play, say, in the NIT is “awesome.” But Fisher ignited something in his squad, much of which is eligible to return next season. From his first day on North Broad, the Bucks County native drew inspiration from the men who coached before him to set a culture in his first season. Four wins in four days, including a trio of upsets, is a great place to start.

“This group is really special,” Miller said. “But early in the season we kind of didn’t click right away, and then we had to just keep grinding, keep coming in after long days, long losing streaks, just sticking with it, and then eventually we finally found our rhythm and [were] able to win some games, and that’s what I think make this group so special.”

He later added: “I think this was real special to what we want to do in the future because you can carry that momentum into a great spring, into [a] great summer to do big things.”