# 2020–21 Temple Owls men's basketball 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

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Alani Moore | 0 | G | 5'10" | 170 | Senior | Washington, D.C. | Graduated |
| Quinton Rose | 1 | G | 6'8" | 195 | Senior | Rochester, New York | Graduated |
| Monty Scott | 2 | G | 6'5" | 185 | RS Junior | Union, New Jersey | Graduate transferred to Portland State |
| Josh Pierre-Louis | 3 | G | 6'3" | 180 | Freshman | Plainfield, New Jersey | Transferred to UC Santa Barbara |
| Nate Pierre-Louis | 15 | G | 6'4" | 170 | Junior | Plainfield, New Jersey | Play professionally |
| Justyn Hamilton | 21 | F | 6'10" | 190 | Junior | Charlotte, North Carolina | Transferred to Kent State |
| Anto Keshgegian | 32 | G | 6'3" | 185 | Senior | Media, Pennsylvania | Walk–on; graduated |
| Damion Moore | 44 | C | 6'11" | 255 | Senior | Vaughn, Mississippi | Graduated |

### 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. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Colin Daly | G | 6'4" | 185 | Senior | Havertown, Pennsylvania | Walk–on; transferred from West Chester. |

### 2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| 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 |
| Recruiting 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 |
| Recruiting 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 |
| Recruiting 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 |
| Recruiting 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: "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### 2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2021 recruits :
| 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 |
| Recruiting 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 |
| Recruiting 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 |
| Recruiting 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: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 9, 2020. |||||||

## Preseason
### AAC preseason media poll

On October 28, The American released the preseason Poll and other preseason awards
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 |

## 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.
* On November 26, Temple paused activities following positive COVID-19 tests within their program for 14 days. This resulted in the cancellation of participation in the Hall of Fame Tip Off (alongside Rhode Island and Virginia Tech) as well as games against La Salle, Villanova, and Saint Joseph's.
* The games at Cincinnati scheduled for February 4 was moved to Philadelphia.
* The game at East Carolina rescheduled for February 11 was moved to Philadelphia.
* The game vs. Cincinnati rescheduled for February 12 was moved to Cincinnati.
* The game at South Florida rescheduled to February 21 was moved to Philadelphia.
* The game vs. South Florida scheduled for February 24 was moved to Tampa.

### 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 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | 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 | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | 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 | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | 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 | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | 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 | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | 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 | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | 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 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Addition Financial Arena Orlando, FL |
| March 6, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Wichita State | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | 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

* Khalif Battle

#### All-AAC Freshman Team

* Damian Dunn
Source