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The second meeting was much more closely contested. In fact, we outplayed them, but gave the game away at the free throw line.
Two days ago I wrote that I was somewhat concerned with our mindset should we meet Temple. Later today we will find out if we are mentally ready or not.
In the Atlantic 10 Tournament opener, we did not play too well in the first half against Duquesne. We played with a lot of nervous energy and we looked too anxious on the floor. We tried to drop the hammer on them in the first five minutes. Eventually we settled down and the second half was a clinic for us.
Against Xavier, the game was called very well. In our previous two meetings against the Musketeers the disparity in free throw attempts was arguably the difference. They went to the line 98 times compared to 28 trips for us. On Thursday night they went to the line 30 times, while we had 25 trips.
Being able to keep Attila Cosby on the floor was also very important. Foul trouble kept him from getting a lot of minutes in the regular season meetings with Xavier.
Greg Collucci had only six points, but they came from beyond the arc, which helped to open up the floor. Xavier had to spread their defense and it opened up some more space.
I was concerned that not having Bernard Barrow at full strength might be a problem against the Musketeers. When you play Xavier you have to be ready to deal with their pressure. I was a little surprised that they did not press us more. In fact they attacked Bernard on one occasion, but they never trapped him again.
Tonight that will not be a factor.
Temple is not going to come after you full court. They will settle into their tenacious matchup zone and force you make good decisions and locate the open shooter. You are going to get looks against the Owls if you are patient and make good passes.
In any zone there are open shots available. It is just a matter of identifying those spots and executing.
Since we do not have to be concerned with any full court traps, we can have Mike King bring the ball up. The key to being successful is obvious -- Execute your half court offense.
But against Temple that is easier said than done.
Last night we got contributions from everyone. Tonight we will need a similar effort.
Chris Monroe and Val both gave us good-solid guard play. In addition to Mike and Attila, we also got some good minutes from Greg Collucci and Patrick Ngongba.
In my recent column I stated that we came here to win. We have accomplished that twice and now we have to do battle with the Owls.
