Temple Owls Drop Fifth Straight in 77-73 Loss at FAU

Owls now sit in ninth place in the American Conference standings after being tied for second just 19 days ago.

Published on Feb. 27, 2026

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The Temple Owls suffered their fifth straight loss, falling 77-73 to the Florida Atlantic Owls on the road. Despite a strong performance from Gavin Griffiths, who scored 20 points, Temple was outrebounded and got limited production from its bench. The loss drops Temple to 15-13 overall and 7-8 in American Conference play, putting them in ninth place in the standings with three games left in the regular season.

Why it matters

The top 10 teams in the American Conference advance to the conference tournament, with the top six earning a first-round bye. Temple currently sits just two games ahead of East Carolina and Rice, who are both 5-10 in conference play, making Sunday's home game against Rice a crucial one in the Owls' quest to secure a tournament berth.

The details

Gavin Griffiths had his best game in over a month, scoring 20 points and hitting four 3-pointers, but Temple's supporting cast struggled. The Owls were outrebounded by 8 and got just 5 bench points. FAU used a 15-2 run spanning the end of the first half and start of the second to take the lead, and despite a late Temple comeback, the home Owls held on for the victory.

  • The game was played on Thursday, February 27, 2026.
  • Temple was tied for second place in the American Conference standings 19 days ago.

The players

Gavin Griffiths

A junior wing guard for the Temple Owls who scored 20 points and hit 4 three-pointers in the loss.

Derrian Ford

An FAU player who matched Griffiths' 20 points and shot 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.

Aiden Tobiason

A Temple player who scored 10 of his 19 points in the second half.

Kanaan Carlyle

An FAU guard who scored a game-high 22 points.

Adam Fisher

The head coach of the Temple Owls.

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What’s next

A win over Rice on Sunday at home would go a long way for Temple in ensuring a trip to the American Conference tournament.

The takeaway

Temple’s fifth straight loss has put their postseason tournament hopes in jeopardy, as they now sit just two games ahead of East Carolina and Rice for a spot in the top 10. The Owls will need to regroup quickly with three regular-season games left, starting with a crucial home matchup against Rice on Sunday.