UAB: 2023-24 American Men's Basketball Champions

 

A surprise run from the suddenly upstart Temple Owls was stopped short on the doorstep of a bid into March Madness. 

After making it to the final round of the Amercian Athletic Conference Championship as an 11 seed, the Owls ran into a No. 4-seeded UAB squad that had an answer for everything they could muster, sending them home on an 85-69 defeat and without the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament that was up for grabs. 

Hysier Miller led Temple with a game-high 32 points, but was the only starter to hit double-digits in scoring for the Owls against a UAB defense they struggled to crack. 

Temple shot 9-for-30 from the field for the first half and went a brutal 2-for-12 from three with the Blazers regularly forcing them into tough looks and rushed decisions. The Owls struggled to get the ball inside and had to earn just about every basket they got. 

UAB, meanwhile, seemingly couldn't miss down the other way, especially from long range.

The Blazers shot 7-for-13 from beyond the arc in the first half, with the hot hand of guard Alejandro Vasquez heavily leading the charge at a perfect 5-for-5 from three. He would go on to finish with 29 points while contributing to an 11-0 run late in the first half that repeatedly punished the Owls in transition and set the tone for UAB to run away with this one. 

The Blazers' Christian Coleman put home an easy layup and then an emphatic dunk on fast breaks made in quick succession. 

Early into the second half, after UAB's Eric Gaines rushed down the floor to make a block on Miller's three attempt from behind, Coleman recovered the ball and launched it down to Vasquez breaking toward the basket, who then put it off the glass for Coleman catch up with and throw down to all but put the final nail in the contest. 

Sunday brought a crushing end to Temple's season, but produced a late run for the Owls to both be proud of and to build off of following Adam Fisher's first, and turbulent, year as head coach of the men's program. 

The Owls went a rocky 16-19 through the regular season and a woeful 5-13 in conference play. 

They were blown out by UAB, 100-72, back on March 7, which after their second consecutive loss, also brought to light that gambling watchdog U.S. Integrity had been monitoring Temple's past two contests for unusual wagering activity. 

The Owls came back and beat UTSA, 84-82, to close out their 2023-24 slate and secure them as the No. 11 seed in the American's postseason tournament, then rang off an improbable run that saw them topple UTSA again, SMU, Charlotte, and then Flordia Atlantic before hitting a wall in the final against UAB.