A few things to take away from the win over Temple

Holding down the fort

Opponents have always had a tough time winning in Halton Arena, with the slight exception of last year. This year, the 49ers are protecting the home floor better than they have in years. Charlotte is 8-1 at Halton this season with the lone loss coming to 20th-ranked Georgia Tech. Halton was rocking on Wednesday night as Charlotte derailed Temple’s run through the A-10 and proved to be one of the best home court advantages in the conference. Temple was 8-1 on the road before Wednesday night’s game and came in boasting one of the best defenses in the country. Charlotte exploited the Owls’ defense for 46 second-half points with their powerful inside game and shut down Temple with a tricky 2/3 zone defense.

Shooting struggles

Temple’s shooting percentage (34.4 percent) wasn’t indicative of the shot selection the Owls got in the first half. Temple used crisp, efficient passing to move the ball around the floor and get open looks at the basket and at times, passed up open looks in the paint to move the ball around the perimeter. Aside from Ryan Brooks’ hot shooting from the perimeter in the early-going, the Owls couldn’t buy an outside shot, going 11-for-35 from behind the arc. Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz eluded to the fact that the poor shooting could be attributed to Charlotte’s zone defense, which put the ball in the hands of some people that Temple didn’t really want shooting.

Frontline

Bobby Lutz’s Charlotte squads have always been known for their up-tempo style of play and reliance on the 3-point shot in big-time games. Now, Charlotte has the frontline to allow them to work the ball inside out and rely on the big men inside. Charlotte’s number of 3-point attempts have gone down, and their win total has gone up over the last three games. The Niners knocked down 8-of-15 in a crucial road win against Richmond, 7-of-22 on the road against a feisty La Salle squad and hit 4-of-15 from downtown Wednesday night. With Chris Braswell and Shamari Spears on the inside, the 49ers don’t have to rely on the 3-point shot and they showed that in the second half Wednesday night, shooting 58.3 percent and attempting only six 3-pointers in the second stanza.

Green Wave

Derrio Green has been on fire of late, especially against Top 25 opponents. Green scored another 26 points last night and is averaging 19 points per game against teams ranked in the Top 25. Green is also averaging 15.7 points per game since the conference season began and has dished out 17 assists over the last three games.

The Little Apple in Charlotte?

Anyone catch last Monday’s battle between #9 Kansas State and #1 Texas in the “Little Apple” in Manhattan, Kan.? Apparently someone in the Charlotte Athletic department did. The K-State faithful had large head cutouts of Head Coach Frank Martin and players Jacob Pullen and Jamar Samuels in the win over the nation’s top-ranked team. Wednesday night, I wasn’t surprised to see large head cutouts of Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz, forward Shamari Spears and point guard Dijuan Harris adorning the student section. For future reference, I think it’s a great idea and added a unique aspect to Niner Nation.